Heb.6:19,20 The Anchor of Hope

In Colorado where the Wellington river empties into the Niagara a sign is posted: Do you have an Anchor? Do you know how to use it?
A)Good questions for those who like to go boating as well as for those who are sailing on the Sea of Life

B)We are in this world as a ship at sea, liable to be tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away.

1) Our souls are the vessels.

C) The comforts, expectations, graces, and happiness of our souls are the precious cargo with which these vessels are loaded.

1) Heaven is the harbor to which we sail.

D)The temptations, persecutions, and afflictions that we encounter, are the winds and waves that threaten our shipwreck

1) See Life is like a Restless Sea Unstable / Dangerous / Unpredictable –

Winds come up & waves come crashing w/out WARNING

I Think of some of the waves that have recently come crashing into the lives of different people in our Fellowship

A)I think of a few different families where the Husband has been notified that he lost his Job –

B) Tossed by a wave that says How are you going to provide for your family

Those recently tossed by the death of a Loved one

1) Those tossed by a wave that signaled a discovery of Cancer / or some

other serious illness

C) But That is how life can be one wave after another that has the potential to capsize us – to turn us over – leave us shipwrecked

But our Lord would not have us to be in such an Unsettled Condition / He doesn’t want to see us carried about by every wind & Wave

A)So He has fashioned for us an Anchor of Hope that is both sure & steadfast that we may outride the storm !!!

B) This morning I want us to consider the truths suggested by the image of the Anchor

1) My Prayer for us who are believers is that God would grant us to know the Meaning of the Anchor & Make sure we know how the use it

C) My Prayer for those who are not believers in J.C. is that today you would Lay hold of the Anchor set before you & Cast it overboard .

Note 4 things about the Anchor – see its application for our lives

1^st the Purpose of an Anchor –

A)An Anchor is designed to hold an vessel firmly in one place – when the winds / currents & storms would otherwise remove it

B)Anchors are not used as decorations – they are not sit on the ship for looks – they have a purpose / a purpose that is seen the most in heaviest of times

C) A ship may not need an Anchor in calm waters where they are content to just Drift along

1) But when the wind comes a blowing w/ great guns against the vessel/ so that the vessel cannot hold her course that is when the Anchor is needed

D)That is when the Anchor is worth it’s weight in gold -Because if the ship cannot be Anchored there will be nothing left of her in a very short time

So the purpose of the Anchor is to hold the vessel firm in the mist of the Storm / to prevent it from being shipwrecked

2^nd thing to note is THE MAKE of the ANCHOR/ the materials it is made w/

A)In the olden days when the only way to travel from one continent to another Was by Ship – Anchor making was Big Business

B)The Anchor smith couldn’t cut corners in his work because if he made the anchor poorly or of weak materials & the ship was wrecked

1) he could be held responsible

D) Therefore anchors were not made of cast iron or just any kind of material but of wrought iron

1) Strongly wielded tough compact material that would be able to bear the strain that would come upon it in the worst of times

E) So an Anchor was made of Strong stuff – of weighty Material

Our Anchor is described here as Our Hope

A) Our Hope is based upon the Person & the work of J.C. /

B) He is an Anchor that is weighty – He is God / God in the flesh / creator

^{Cole 1:16}For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Psa 125:1,2 Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.

C) Jesus is an Anchor that is strong – He withstood all of the storms / all of the temptations that this life can throw at someone

1) And He came out unscathed!!!!!

D) So the Anchors were made of strong stuff – Our Anchor is made of the strongest stuff – He is God !!!!!! / Creator / Sustainer

III Our Hold of the Anchor

A)An Anchor is no good unless it is attached to the Boat – there must be a strong cable that connects the Anchor to the Ship

B) Large ships use a Chain to hold the Anchor to the Boat

1) Scripture is like a Chain – One truth connected to another – Fulfilled Prophecy / 300 all fulfilled by Christ 1^st coming / death & Rez

C)The theme of the 2^nd part of Heb Ch.6 is the Faithfulness of God

1) Illustration of how God is faithful to keep his promises / He made a

promise to Abe and He kept it

D)Even though There was a 25 yr. gap between when the Promise was given & when the fulfillment came / it came

1) Just to show how serious He was about the Promise God took an Oath swore by his name – to add further assurance to Abe’s weak faith

E) To Signify that This Promise was BINDING /

Interesting to note that the Anchor had two arms like a cross –

A)Our Anchor also has two arms/ v.17 two unchangeable things impossible for God to lie God’s Promise & His Pledge / His Word & His Name

B)God has given Promises to us – Promise that He who has begun a Good work will be faithful to complete it / Promise of Heaven / Eternal life

1) Never leave us or forsake us !!!

C)And all of those Promises have their fulfillment in God person / Pledge

1) Made Another Oath – 1,000 yrs later PSA 110 Send a H.P. after the order of Melch. – Messiah the Savior

Now the Significance of the Messiah being a Priest after the order of Melch is that King & a Priest ministry is forever

A)As a Priest – offered a superior Sacrifice – Himself – No need others

Opened the door of ACESS / Continues to make Intercession

B) As a King He Supplies us w/ all the resources of the Kingdom

C) Ministry continues because He is Risen / Our Hope is based in the Rez.

1Peter 1:3,4 ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So This Hope refers to the all Encompassing Ministry of Jesus

A)That makes Him a Better Leader than Moses / better provider Joshua / …. Priest than Aaron

B) It is a Hope is weighty / it is solid / A hope that is connected to the Chain of God’s Word / that is based upon the Rez. of Christ

1) And the Faithfulness of God / That Hope is our Anchor that holds you

SURE & STEADY thru the storms of Life

Now Our text speaks plainly in v.18 about laying hold of this Hope set before us

A)Notice it is Set before us – Picture in your mind going to a persons house for Thanksgiving dinner – all the food is set there on the Table

B) Prayer of Blessing – Dig in – Set before you to indulge / to lay hold of

1) Grab that bowl of mash potatoes & scoop it down onto your plate

Grab the gravy / pour it on / Grab the plate of Turkey / Stuffing

C) Getting the picture?– Afterwards - Dessert – Grab that fork & dig into the plate of Chocolate cream pie

D) What a tragedy it would be to have all of that set before – you and not lay hold of any of it – or only lay hold of a little./ simply pick instead of feast

My Son is a Finicky eater right now – so a lot of that stuff he won’t even touch – He is missing out / Not partaking of the blessings of the meal

A)When it comes to Christ – many people are that way – He is set before them as an Anchor of Hope / sure & steadfast in the storms of life

B) But they never lay a hold of Him – Never put their faith in Who He is / the work that He accomplished when He came & died for them

1) Instead they put their Hope in things like vain Philosophy, idealistic ramblings or their own self confidence

C) They place their hope in things that seem great when the waters are calm

1) But have no sticking power when the waves start crashing / when the winds of life are blowing

D) They find out that their hope is made of paper or some destructible substance when the chips are down.

1) Paul described the unbeliever in this way in Eph. 2 They are w/out hope & w/ out God in this present world

E) All because they have never laid hold of the Anchor that is set before them !!!!! Jesus the Risen Lord

But even many believers – fall prey to this – the Anchor is set before them but they don’t lay hold of it

A)The Greek = lay hold by force so as to not lose hold when the greatest force would seek to pull it from us

B) We need to be like Eleazer the son of Dodo who was one of David’s mighty men who in the mist of the Battle – held his sword so tight that after the battle it needed to be pried from His Hand

C) We need to take a firm hold of the truth concerning Chirst - His person / His Work / Who we are in Him

1) Hold it in such a way that we would have to be dismembered before it could be taken from us / because it has grown into your very self

D) ANCHOR DEEP

How do we Anchor deep ? How cultivate that Hope

A)1^st Consider how it is not Cultivated – Hope is not cultivated when my focus is on me & my limitations or on – No hope but only depression

B) Nor is Hope cultivated when I have my focus on the Situation – the wind & waves that are crashing up against the Boat

C) Hope is cultivated First of all when in the mist of all of that – My Limitations / The desperateness of the Situation – I am Able to see Jesus

Consider the Story of Jairus Lk. 8

A)Jairus was the ruler of the Synagogue who’s 12 yr old daughter was deathly sick –

B) Jairus was faced w/ his limitations / there was nothing he could do to help his daughter

1) It was a desperate situation / Doctors who were unable to cure her / told him / his daughter only had a short time to live.

C) The waves were crashing / what did he do – He ran to Jesus - he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,

¹⁾ to touch his daughter who was dying

D) Forget about Positions / forget about what his peers would think – all that matter was – His daughter being made well

Well Jesus agreed to come – but on the way to Jarius’ home – there was a woman in the crowd – who was suffering 12 yrs w/ an issue of blood

A) She had turned to doctors – spent all her money- No Cure

B) Because of her sickness – Unclean – couldn’t worship / she was a notch above a Leper – she wasn’t banished to a colony – severely limited

1) She thought only touch the hem – healed

C) So she came up behind – Jesus felt healing power go from Him

1) Stopped Who touched me ? Disciples – WHAT ?

D) The woman comes forward – Jesus has her tell her story – then He Validates her- Go your faith has made you whole

¹⁾ I’m sure this whole time Jairus is growing impatient – as the woman tells her story – he is looking at his watch – come on / get going

Finally when they were ready to resume – servants come – Don’t trouble Him any longer / your daughter is DEAD!!

A)Jairus looks at Jesus / looks at this woman who was just healed & Jesus says Don’t be afraid – Just Believe she will be made well

B) Put it another way – Jairus here is an Anchor of Hope that you have in me / You have seen what I can do –

1) So just take hold of it & cast it into the deep – Which is what He did

C) So that Hope is first of all cultivated when we take our eyes off of us & our limitations / off the situation & it’s desperateness

1) And place our focus onto Jesus – His Faithfulness / His Ability !!!

It was said of Abe in Rom 4 :18 ^{–20 18}who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”^{£ 19}And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. ²²And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”^£

A)He kept High His expectation – he didn’t waver at the promise

B) And He gave God ADULATION – Gave God Glory

1) Hope is cultivated when we worship / In worship we are declaring the greatness of God – thru that process – Hope grows

So those are some ways how Hope is cultivated / Examples of How we lay hold of the Anchor

Now 4th thing I want to consider is The Anchors hold on us

A)A ship has a hold of her Anchor by the Chain cable that attaches it to the Ship

B) But at the same time the Anchor has it’s hold on the ship !

1) The Anchor goes down to the seas bottom & holds the vessel hard & fast in the mist of the storm

CHS – “Under temptation & depression of spirit, under trial & affliction / under great spiritual attack you will not only hold your hope which is your duty but your hope will hold you & that is your Privilege”

That is the beauty of our walk w/ the Lord – we think that we are holding onto Him – and there is truth in that we are to ABIDE

A)But the greater truth is that He is holding onto us – and when our grip starts to slip – we think we would be lost – we discover all along that it was really him holding onto Us

B)When the devil tempts you to say, “I will give it all up,” a power unseen will speak out of the infinite deeps, and will reply,

1) “But I shall not give you up, I have a hold of you, and none shall separate us.”

C) LISTEN our security depends far more upon God’s holding us than our holding to him.

A mother Wishing to encourage her 9yr.old son’s progress on the piano took him to a Paderewski concert.  It was a high society extravaganza the men where in Tuxes the women in long evening gowns . After they were seated, the mother turned to talk to a friend . Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose up and eventually wandered up to the Grand piano that was on the stage & began to innocently play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

The roar of the crowd was hushed as hundreds of frowning faces pointed in the little boys direction & began to shout – Get that boy away from there. Who would be so dumb to bring a kid that young in here ? Where is his mother- somebody stop him.

Well back stage the Master – heard the commotion - & realized what was happening so he , quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear,  "Don't quit.  Keep on playing Don’t stop ."

  Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down around the boy & began to improvise a counter melody to harmonize & enhance the song. The crowd was mesmerized .

That is us – clanging along making a mess of things – from our perspective but he is there the whole time – saying don’t quit keep going

A)All the while he has his hand on us / seeking to make beautiful music of our messed up lives

B)We can’t see that grip that he has on us – but we believe that it is true because the word tells us so

1) Romans 8 – ³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

³⁷Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible declares that we walk by faith & not by sight – I believe that this is also symbolized in the image of the Anchor

A)You see when the Anchor is in use it is not seen / it is thrown overboard to be lowered to the bottom of the sea

1) where it establishes a good grip & a tight hold

B)The more that the ship drags the tighter it’s hold becomes / It digs into the soil and as the cable draws on it, it goes deeper & deeper

1) Until the Anchor almost buries itself

C) The Anchor gets such a hold as if to say “Now winds blow as you will for you must tear up the floor of the sea before this vessel will be let go”

Listen Where is your hope? Do you believe because you can see? That is not believing at all.

A)Do you believe because you can feel? That is feeling, it is not believing. But “blessed is he that has not seen and yet has believed.”

B)Blessed is he who believes against his feelings, & hopes against hope.

1). Our hope is not seen, it lies in the waves, or, as the text says, “within

the veil.”

C) Our Hope is like a little boy flying a Kite the kite is up in the clouds, where he cannot see it, but he knows it is there, for he feels it pull;

1) so our good hope our Anchor has gone up to heaven, and it is pulling and

drawing us towards itself.

“Let the winds blow, and billows roll, Hope is the anchor of my soul.

But can I by so slight a tie, An unseen hope, on God rely?

Steadfast and sure, it cannot fail, It enters deep within the veil,

It fastens on a land unknown, And moves me to my Father’s throne.”