More Sure Than The Sunrise

Anchored in Hope: The Unshakeable Promises of God

Bible Passage: Hebrews 6:9-20

Summary: In this passage, the author of Hebrews contrasts the certainty of God's promises with the imperfections of human efforts. It emphasizes the assurance and hope found in the steadfast nature of God's promises, illustrating the role of faith in inheriting these promises.

Application: This sermon can help Christians who may feel uncertain or discouraged by life’s circumstances by reminding them of the solid foundation of hope in God's promises. It encourages believers to trust in God's faithfulness, even when they are faced with trials or temptations to doubt.

Teaching: The key teaching here is that God’s promises are unwavering and trustworthy. He does not change, and His commitments to us are eternal, anchored in His nature and character. This teaches us about the importance of holding on to hope and cultivating a faith that anticipates future blessings.

How this passage could point to Christ: This passage ultimately points to Christ as the fulfillment of God's promises. Jesus serves as the anchor for our souls, guaranteeing our inheritance and securing our hope through His work on the cross and resurrection, showing that God's promises are realized in Him.

Big Idea: We can live confidently and hope-filled lives because God’s promises are anchored in Christ, who secures our future and strengthens our faith.

Recommended Study: As you prepare your sermon with Logos, consider diving deeper into the nuances of the Greek text in Hebrews 6:19, particularly regarding the terms used for "anchor" and "hope". Explore the historical context of the audience to whom Hebrews was written, noting specific struggles they faced that would illuminate their need for such reassurance. Additionally, examining how this passage relates to Old Testament covenant themes can provide a richer understanding of God’s promises.Intro

Intro

We live by God’s promises, not by God’s explanations.. It takes no faith to do anything with full explanation. If we wait for all the details and for all the plan to be revealed we are not asking for faith, we are asking for rationale. And the Bible is quite clear, we are to be people of faith not people of rational thinking.

And we must remember, friends that these Hebrew Christians that are getting this letter needed faith. They were making a huge transition here; for generations they had walked as Jews waiting on the Messiah and now they are walking as the first generation of people after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They are on the cusp of something brand new and through them God is going to transition the entire Christian faith- seems like a pretty solid reason to need faith.

And wait is faith anchored in? Faith is anchored in the promises of God.

Sometimes to feel the importance of the anchor we need to feel the stress of the storm

1. Diligence in Divine Promises

Hebrews 6:9-12

The writer first praises the Hebrews for their persistence in keeping their faith alive. The Hebrew Christians had held up their end of the bargain-they helped other Christian in need and they were growing in their love for Christ and his mission. You know, when we fully understand the promises of God we realize that those promises do not release us from doing things for Jesus; they empower us to work on his behalf. In fact, says the writer , they do not need to become sluggish in imitating the early church fathers.

This can literally be translated don’t become lazy. Which let’s be honest can be tempting for some situations. There can be a temptation to think that because God’s promises are so true we are released from any kind of responsibility. As if because God is working we do not have to; but that is the exact opposite of what we are called to do.

As people of faith the assurance of God’s promises should actually empower us to do more for Christ because we are guaranteed that our work is not in vain.

2. Promises Made to Abraham

Hebrews 6:13-15

Take Abraham for example- who would have been the best example for these Hebrews because they traced their lineage back to him. Saying to a Hebrew “remember Abraham” is like saying “Remember George Washington” to an American- he is the foundation of what it means to be an American, right?

Genesis 15:5–6 “And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

God makes this promise to Abraham. And let’s be honest, it’s a stretch to the human mind with Abe being 75.

There is not a ton of rational thinking about a 75 year old man becoming a father; his fathering years were behind him, right?

Abraham had the DESIRE to be a father, we know he wanted to have children, especially a son; Abraham had the WILL to be a father; we see in his prayer life, and in his failures will Hagar; it was the ability that he lacked- he had never been able to be a father.

Here’s the thing, this promise was not based on Abraham’s ability or his will or desire. This promise was based on God’s ability, will, and desire.

And where did Abraham’s righteousness come from? Well it came from believing God the text tells us- hard stop. The only way that Abraham found right standing with God was in believing him, even in the face of crazy ideas like a 75 year old man being a father.

But we know that God was true to his word, even though it took 25 more years for this promise to come true.

3. Unalterable Divine Guarantees

Hebrews 6:16-18

Notice that the text tells us that God’s promises are always true because they are not based on us; they are based on the character and goodness of God.

This means that even if we fail, God does not and our mistakes cannot discredit God’s plans and promises.

We all remember there is a little hiccup in Abraham’s story, right? Not everything goes according to the original plan, remember?

Genesis 16:1–4 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.”

Genesis 16:15–16 “And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.”

Abraham got impatient, and let’s be honest most of us would after 11 years too. It had been 11 years since God promised Abraham that he would have a son- most of us struggle to wait 11 hours for God to come through for us; 11 years is a pretty solid effort if you ask me.

He had an opportunity to help God out- to move things along, and maybe God needed him to take things into his own hands; because God had not really been active in the baby delivering process as of late. So Abe deviates from the plan; with what I am sure were actually pretty good intentions.

And it would be so easy to say- DONE; CANCELED; FAILURE. That because of Abraham’s calamity God’s promise is null and void.

But that is not what happened, is it?

Why? Because it is impossible for God to lie. Now notice in these verses that it says that God offered to Abraham and those who followed him both a promise and an oath.

The promise was God’s Word that it was going to come to pass just as he said. But God took it even one step further- he gave an oath as well. Now a promise is big; but an oath- that’s even more binding, right? We take oaths for court cases and in legal settings; we take oaths and usually breaking an oath has some kind of consequence. An oath is like a level or 2 above a regular promise, right? And when we take an oath there are some common phrases we use and many times, if not most times people with say “with God as my witness” or “so help me God” So God follows suit, but who does God make an oath by? Himself of course because God is the only one who never changes.

Friends, God does not change, even when we do; and Abraham was proof of that very truth. Yes, the Bible is full of it/then statements friends- if you do this then this will happen.

John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

But there are direct promises of God that are simply built on his character and his unchanging nature

Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

4. Hope Anchored in Christ

Hebrews 6:19-20

If ever you have the chance to visit the catacombs in Rome, those tunnels under the ancient city, where many of the early Christians were buried, you can see the symbols of faith on their tombs. Three common symbols appear: the dove, the fish, and the anchor. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The letters of the Greek word for "fish," ichthus, stand for the words Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. The anchor came from the idea that as Christians were going through difficult, insecure times, their hope anchored their souls. The anchor was a popular symbol in the early church. At least sixty-six pictures of anchors have been found in the catacombs.

So the writer of Hebrews encourages us to have this hope- the hope of God’s promises to be an anchor for our soul.

But here’s the thing, church, an anchor is not an independent object. Sure, if you are like me and my dad we fish off a bass boat- its not all that big; and we can put a small anchor down and it will keep us still enough for long enough to fish the spots we want to fish. But what about a big ship? A huge fishing boat or a cruise liner? There is no way just an anchor will hold them, right?

No, the anchor digs- it digs into the bed of the ocean; the rocks and the seabed to keep the ship from floating away; it is not just the anchor but what the anchor digs into that matters.

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 2:19–20 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,”

Matthew 7:24–29 ““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

The mighty Niagara River plummets some 180 feet at the American and Horseshoe Falls.

Before the falls, there are violent, turbulent rapids. Further upstream, however, where the river’s current flows more gently, boats are able to navigate.

Just before the Welland River empties into the Niagara, a pedestrian walkway spans the river. Posted on this bridge’s pylons is a warning sign for all boaters:

"Do you have an anchor?" followed by, "Do you know how to use it?"

Child of God, do you know that Jesus is your anchor in the storms of life? Do you know how to use your anchor