“hope The Anchor Of Our Soul

What ever happened to hope Part 2

“Hope The Anchor Of Our Soul”

Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12 LivingBible Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy.

Many people in our world have lost Hope. Like we said last week,

Man can live about 40 days without food, about 3 days without water, about 8 minutes without air but only about 1 second without hope.

The word HOPE means: A confident expectation of good.

We live in a world today that seems to have lost hope. People look at the weather and have lost hope, at politicians and have lost hope. They look at the economy and have lost hope, Marriages, raising Kids, even our young people have lost hope. Sad but so true.

What I have seen is that so many people wake up in the morning with a desire to have a great day and then life happens.

What I want us to see today is that this happens to even the best people that live and have lived.

The most important thing, is to NOT GIVE UP.

Abraham Lincoln Didn't Quit

Probably the greatest example of persistence is Abraham Lincoln. If you want to learn about somebody who didn't quit, look no further .

Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.

He could have quit many times - but he didn't and because he didn't quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country.

Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up. Here is a sketch of Lincoln's road to the White House:

1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.

1818: His mother died. 1831: Failed in business. 1832: Ran for state legislature - lost.

1832: Also lost his job - wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.

1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.

1834: Ran for state legislature again - won.

1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.

1836: Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.

1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature - defeated.

1840: Sought to become elector - defeated. 1843: Ran for Congress - lost.

1846: Ran for Congress again - this time he won - went to Washington and did a good job.

1848: Ran for re-election to Congress - lost.

1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state - rejected.

1854: Ran for Senate of the United States - lost.

1856: Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention - got less than 100 votes.

1858: Ran for U.S. Senate again - again he lost.

1860: Elected president of the United States.

What happen here. He keep his hope alive. He didn’t let go and Hope became an anchor throughout his life.

The Bible tells us that hope is the only thing that can hold us steady, in the uncertainties of life. In fact our Bible and our God says that we are to have a great hope and this hope will hold us steady no matter what life brings at us. God has given us the Anchor of Hope.

Hebrews 6:13-20 (NKJV) 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19 (AMP) [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,