2 - What Are You Holding Onto?

Welcome back church! Today we continue our Anchor series together. And as a quick refresher from last week; An anchor is an amazing invention, used by fishermen and sailors for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The basic concept of an anchor is that it “is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current.”[1]

An anchor is simple in its design, but very powerful in its function.

As you can imagine, an anchor needs to be strong enough to hold no matter how much tension and pressure is being put on it by the boat.

Bible commentator Alexander Maclaren says this about the strength of an anchor: “A sure anchor is one which does not drag. It is not too light for the ship that rides by it. It has found its firm ground, its flukes are all right, and its belch. It does not deceive. The ship’s crew may trust it. An anchor which is steadfast, or, as the original word might be rendered, ‘firm,’ is one that will not break, but is strong in its own substance, made of good tough iron, so that there is no fear of the shank snapping, whatever strain may be put upon it. We may then say, generally, that this object of the Christian hope is free from all the weaknesses and imperfections which cleave and cling to other objects.”

Today we are going to look at what Maclaren calls the “weaknesses and imperfections which cleave and cling to other objects.” Because the truth is that there is only one firm and secure anchor in which we can put our hope. And that’s Jesus.

Main Teaching

Life is filled with false hope and security.

We are met with a constant barrage of promises for health, wealth, and well being from every source imaginable. From an early age we begin to learn that if we can get strong enough, smart enough, and save enough money then everything will be alright. And for a little while, that’s all fine and dandy, until of course it's not.

And this affects all of us, so please don’t feel singled out or picked on this morning. All of us have, at one time or another, put our hope in things that couldn’t deliver. This is one lesson we’ve all had to learn the hard way.

So what is that thing in your life that calls for your allegiance and loyalty?

Is it strength, smarts, or possibly saving accounts? Is it a job title, position, or a relationship?

The good news today is that no matter what that thing is, I can promise you Jesus is better, stronger, more firm and secure.

And He’s always ready for us to return to Him.

Welcome Home

As mentioned, all of us are guilty of misplaced hope. I love how God is patient with us, no matter how long the process takes.

Read 2 Peter 3:8-9

2 Peter 3:8–9 (NLT)

8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

SLIDE: Welcome Home

The Lord’s patience has nothing to do with slowness and everything to do with salvation. He is interested in all of us coming home, no matter how displaced and fractured our hope may be. No matter how far from “home” we’ve wandered.

Just listen to this story from Luke 15, called The Prodigal Son.

Read Luke 15:11-20

Luke 15:11–20 (NLT)

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” ’ 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

I’m sure many of you have heard the story before. And in it, we can clearly see how the younger son misplaces His hope. He chases after earthly things, transient pleasures, and experiences. But eventually all the money and energy are gone and he is left with nothing.

For all the hope he must have had in creating a new life apart from his family and away from his father it all ended when the hope he was holding onto slipped through his fingers. It wasn’t firm or secure.

Through this story, we get an amazing picture of divine love and acceptance. As the son realizes what he’s done, he decides to head home. His father, who had apparently been waiting and watching, saw him a far way off and ran to meet him. Embracing his wayward son he welcomed him home.

The father didn’t scold or shame his son. He hugged him, kissed him, and eventually threw a massive dinner party to celebrate his return.

How many of us here today are tired of trying everything the world has to offer only to find it meaningless and hopeless?

How many of us simply need to head home, to our heavenly Father.

To the place where our hope, faith, and love have a firm and secure space to thrive.

Seek First The Kingdom

In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus goes into a lengthy teaching about our motivations, anxiety, fear, and then of course, the hope we have in the kingdom. Let’s look at what Jesus says about earthly treasures.

Read Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 (NLT)

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Earthly treasure is easily destroyed, or worse, stolen.

Illustration: A friend of mine once had the down payment he had saved up for a home stolen from him… His world was completely shaken, in part because he had sacrificed so much to save that money. But the event also highlighted how much “hope” he had put into the purchase of a new home… It was not a firm nor secure thing to hold onto.

This story is unique to my friend, but this is not a unique story in that this kind of thing happens to all of us at some point or another. Things get lost, damaged, or stolen all the time. And if we’re not careful, we can suffer greatly at their loss if our hope is wrapped up in them. We can so easily be holding onto the wrong things… and this is why Jesus offers us so many correctives throughout Matthew chapter 6.

Read Matthew 6:31-34

Matthew 6:31–34 (NLT)

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

So many of us are worried about what to eat or what to wear. We’re worried about property values and sporting events. All of this highlights how our hope is in the wrong place. As an example, when’s the last time you were around a die hard sports fan whose team just lost the big game? It’s awful isn’t it?

SLIDE: Seek First the Kingdom

Jesus offers us a divine solution to it all. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Seek the Kingdom.

SLIDE: Seek the Kingdom

Wrap your arms around the kingdom of God. Around Jesus, His teachings, and His people.

This is the divine corrective for misplaced and displaced hope. There are so many “weaknesses and imperfections which cleave and cling to other objects.” Things that are too easily destroyed, damaged, or stolen. In fact, as Jesus mentions, every single day we live has more than enough worry of its own.

It’s time we let go of all the false security and hold tight to Jesus. He is our hope, He is a firm and secure anchor for our souls.

Conclusion

As we wrap up today, I want to draw our attention to the biblical story of The Rich Young Ruler found in Mark chapter 10.

Read Mark 10:17-23

Mark 10:17–23 (NLT)

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

In this story, we see another passionate young man who has a desire to follow Jesus. He claims he’s held tightly to the teachings of the law, and observed the commandments since he was a child.

But Jesus, in his perfectly Jesus-y way, identifies another thing in the young man's life he’s got an even tighter grip on. When Jesus shows him he needs to let go of all his wealth in order to follow Him, the young man becomes very sad and he leaves.

You see, this story highlights something we all struggle with, and it’s not necessarily money, although that could be it for you personally. No, it’s the fact that we grow attached to the things we place our hope in. This young ruler clearly had a lot of attachment to his wealth. So much so, that he was unable to put it down in order to follow Jesus.

Or said another way, he was unable to loosen his grip on money in order to tighten his grip on Christ. And this specific picture leads us to turn our attention back onto our own lives.

Conclusion

SLIDE: Truths for Life

What are you holding onto today?

What do you need to let go of so that you can grab hold of Jesus?

What time do you need to spend this week to get your priorities straight.

And finally, how can you tighten your grip on the anchor of your soul?

Let’s pray together.

Prayer: “Lord thank you for your constant grace and mercy. Please help us this week to let go of anything that we may be holding onto that isn’t you.”

[1] Google search, “What is an anchor” [2] From Maclaren’s Expositions on Hebrews 6:19

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