ANCHORED FOR LIFE—GOING DEEP

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Summer...the importance of being Anchored for life; Living secure in Christ no matter where life takes you.

Hebrews—considered by many scholars one of the most timely and relevant books in the Bible. Its words of warning and encouragement to the faithful who are feeling the pull of the surrounding culture, the weariness of persecution, and the allure of their ancient religion; those who have experienced God’s ultimate work of grace in Christ are urged to hold fast to God’s final word of revelation in his Son.

AVOID THE DRIFT. ANCHOR TO THE SON —HOLDING FIRM ‘TODAY’ KEEPS US ANCHORED FOR TOMORROW

Hebrews 6:19 “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

Today’s passage reflects the impassioned concern of a pastor’s heart; to people who have been living spiritually shallow. Wading around in knee-deep water, splashing and playing and calling it faith. A call to greater understanding of faith—to GO DEEP.

OCEAN/WADING/SHALLOWS

It feel safe there. Its where kids can play and splash and have a great time. There is nothing wrong with the shallow water especially — if your learning to swim. But nobody dives in shallow water. Nobody finds treasure there. Nobody discovers the beauty and wonder and mystery of the deep in water that is waste deep.

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The wreckage of the San José has been sitting at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea for centuries. June of 1708, the ship was carrying about 200 tons of goods when it was attacked and subsequently sunk by the Royal Navy during the War of Spanish Succession. It’s exact location was confirmed in 2015. The cargo is said to be valued at $17 billion—Among its treasures are three gold coins dating back to 1707

Today we consider the preacher words of God’s calling to go deep—not because the shallow end is bad. But because...

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DEEP IS WHERE THE TREASURE IS

Jesus always challenged his disciples to grow deeper in their faith, preparing them for the road ahead...because spiritual security is found in greater understanding of who Jesus is—Shallow faith leaves us unstable and unprepared.

{Mark 4:35-40}

GOING DEEP IS GROWING DEEP—God calls us out of spiritual infancy into mature faith; because deep is where the treasure is. The deeper we grow in Christ, the stronger we are anchored in Christ. 

How you ready to go deep? How deep are you willing to grow?

PRAYER/BIBLES

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In the first few chapters, the author has been unpacking the stunning reality of who Jesus Is—Greater than Moses, and all the prophets...

In Ch. 5, He launches into the deepest, richest teaching about Jesus; greater than Aaron: Jesus as our High Priest...

{5:7-9}

Then he stops (vs. 11). Not because the truth is too complex, but because of the people’s lack of willingness to understand.

(S5) — {5:11}

nōthros (G3576) — dull, sluggish, or slow to understand - Image of a sloth or snail

Its not that they were unintelligent, but that they had spiritually STALLED in their learning.

BOAT/HIGGINS/STALLING/DIAGNOSIS

The Diagnosis — Stuck in the Shallows

Not rebellion. Not apostasy. Something far more common and far more dangerous; spiritual drift disguised as being an ordinary Christian. Its when we stay where we can still touch bottom, where its safe—we’re just not willing to go deeper.

And here is the problem and reason for his diagnosis—spiritual stagnation doesn’t feel like danger. It feels comfortable. It feels safe. It feels like the shallow end — where you we can learn just enough to keep us wet. Where the water is warm, and nothing more is asked of us.

AN ANCHOR IN THE SHALLOWS WON’T HOLD WHEN THE STORM COMES

John Wesley warned against what he called, almost Christians— those who had the form of godliness but had never been transformed by the power of the Spirit.

He is talking to those who sit in the pew every Sunday, give their offering, say their prayers, and yet had never go deep enough to develop the kind of faith that stands firm in the storm—one that is anchored in Christ

The authors tone is not a rebuke from a stranger. This is the voice of someone who loves who believe in Christ— who has walked with them, invested in them, as a shepherd cares for their flock.

Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

(S6) — (5:12)

By this time — by now — you should be teachers. You’ve been at this long enough. You should be able to explain the faith to someone else. You should be able to help younger believers. You should be able to stand firm when the waves come. Instead, you need someone to re-teach you the basics.

— Just as every deep diver started in the shallow end, every master carpenter started by learning to hold a hammer; the basics of the Christian faith are a starting point—but their not a destination.

MELLISSA PIANO RECITAL

THERE IS DANGER IN STAYING SHALLOW

Shallow hearing produces shallow living. 

What you take in determines what you can stand on. If you only ever wade in ankle-deep truth, you'll never discover what's buried further down. The treasure of truly knowing Christ.

Spiritual dullness is gradual, not sudden. 

Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to stop growing. It’s a gradual slowing. You don't drift into the deep — you drift into shallowness.

These believers weren't always this way. They were faithful. But something shifted. and if it happened to them, it can happen to us

Hebrews 5:12 “You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.”

A baby will never grow up on only milk...food feeds the body and the mind so they can grow...

Complacency is the current that can pull even faithful believers toward the shallows—we never grow by staying on milk- the basics of faith

The Distinction — Milk Versus Solid Food

(S7) — {5:13-14}

The difference between milk and solid food is not what we might think.

— It’s not the difference between reading the easy passages in the Bible over the hard. It’s not about intellectual complexity or theological sophistication

— Time as a beleiver doesn't equal maturity in the faith. You can sit in church for twenty years and still be a spiritual infant. Maturity isn't measured by how long you've been a Christian— it's measured by how deeply you're anchored in God’s word.

Milk believers can't handle the weight of deeper truth—not because it's unnecessarily complicated, but because they haven't developed the capacity to receive it. Solid food requires training.

teleiōn (G5046) — the mature, the complete — those who by constant use, habit or practice, have trained their faculties to distinguish good from evil.

Maturity is not the absence of sin; it's the presence of discernment. It's the ability to read a cultural trend, a theological argument, a personal temptation — and recognize it for what it is. That doesn't happen accidentally. It happens through practice, through engagement, through going deep.

The word for training is gymnazō (G1128) — where we get the word; gymnasium. It means learned through repeated practice.

The mature believer is not the one who has read the most books or memorized the most verses. The one who has practiced the Word in the deep places of life. They’ve taken Scripture into real situations — real decisions, real suffering, real temptation — and through that practice, they’ve developed spiritual depth.

Take a master boater—they can sense when the anchor will hold

The mature Christian is always in training—growing in understanding. The baby Christian is still in the shallows — is not bad. They’re just untrained. They haven’t yet developed the spiritual muscles of deep faith.

WHO IS DISCIPLING YOU?

The Wesleyan understanding of sanctification tells us that this growth is not something we manufacture by sheer willpower. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, as we cooperate with grace.

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”

God gives the growth. But we are called to train. We are called to put ourselves in the place where growth can happen — in the Word, in prayer, in community, in service, in obedience. The Spirit empowers.

Spiritual maturity comes through spiritual exercise. And exercise happens in the deep end, not the shallow. Deep is where the treasure is.

III. The Call — TO GO DEEP

(S8) — {6:1}

other versions say, Let us press on to perfection—go deep

The destination is maturity, completeness. Not sinless perfection this side of heaven, but the fullness of growth that God intends for every believer. It means getting out of the shallows, going beyond the basics— to being a fully formed, Spirit-empowered, discerning follower of Jesus whose roots go deep, whose anchor holds, whose faith can weather any storm.

Then the writer doesn't say "you're hopeless" — he says let us press on.

In the Wesleyan tradition, sanctification is a process that begins when we encounter Christ and never ends until we reach glory.

It means growing up by going deeper. It's not white-knuckle effort alone; it's a cooperative movement — the Spirit carries, so we can go deeper.

We are not simply waiting for God to zap us with maturity. But neither are we self-made saints. We cooperate with grace. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure

Philippians 2:12–13 “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

The promise of this passage is that growth is possible. You are not stuck in the shallows. You are not left in spiritual infancy.

— The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is at work in you— conforming you to the image of the Son, teaching you to discern, empowering you to obey, taking you deeper. But you must train. You must practice. You must press on.

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Stuck in the Shallows—Milk Versus Solid Food—The Call — TO GO DEEP

Deep is where the treasure is. And God is calling you to go deep. To be anchored secure in Christ alone.

Application: Three Steps Toward Depth

Get in the Word — don’t just read it, practice it. Don’t settle for a devotional that gives you a nice thought for the day. Open the Scriptures and ask: Lord, what are you saying to me? And what am I going to do about it today?

James 1:22-25 warns us against being hearers only, deceiving ourselves.

The Word is meant to be lived. So pick one thing — one truth, one command, one promise — and practice it this week. Put it into action.

2. Get into community where you can be sharpened. The writer of Hebrews is not writing to isolated individuals. He is writing to a church. The primary way we grow deep is through the body of Christ — through small groups…

GROW GROUPS

3. Stop settling for the shallows. If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for years and your still living on the basics — still unsure of your faith, still unable to articulate what you believe and why, still tossed around by every new idea or crisis — it’s time to go deeper.

We are not saved to wade around in the shallow end. Jesus died for you so you could dive deep — so you could become the kind of person who discerns good and evil, who stands firm in the storm, who can anchor others because you yourself are anchored.

You were made for the deep. You were made for solid food. You were made for the kind of maturity that can only come through training, and the patient work of the Spirit, through the daily practice of obedience.

And the beautiful thing is — it’s not too late. Today is a good day to start. The invitation is to press on to maturity and not settle for the shallows when God is calling us to the deep. To grow in Christ— not in our own strength, but in the power of the Spirit who is at work in us, conforming us to the image of Christ.

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Divers don’t stay in the shallows for a reason...neither should we because going

DEEP IS WHERE THE TREASURE IS—SO GROW DEEP

And I promise, the treasure, knowing Jesus more, is worth the dive.

PRAYER

Father of all growth and grace, We confess that we have too often settled for the shallows when You have called us to the deep. We have drifted when You called us to press on. We have grown sluggish in our hearing when Your Spirit has been speaking. Forgive us for the comfortable that has kept us from becoming who You made us to be.

We thank You that You have not given up on us. You are the patient parent who grieves not to shame us, but because You know what we are missing. You see the depth You designed for us —the discernment, the wisdom, the rooted faith that can weather any storm — and You are calling us toward it still.

This week, train us by Your Spirit. Give us ears to hear Your Word not just with our minds but with our lives. Open the Scriptures, move us beyond information into transformation. When we face decisions, temptations, and trials, remind us to practice what we have learned — to exercise our senses in the daily choices that shape our character and take us deeper.

Draw us into community where we can be sharpened and held accountable. Remove the pride that keeps us isolated and the shame that keeps us silent. Help us to be honest with one another, so that iron can sharpen iron and we can grow deep together.

Lord, we do not want to be almost Christians. We want to be fully Yours — mature, discerning, rooted, and fruitful. Not by our own strength, but by the power of Your Spirit at work within us. We cooperate with Your grace today. We press on — not perfectly, but faithfully — trusting that You who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

Deep is where the treasure is. Take us there. This will we do, if You permit. And we trust that You will. In the name of Jesus, our great High Priest who walks with us into fullness,