Be A Prisoner Of Hope! Do Not Be Troubled!

BE A PRISONER OF HOPE!

DO NOT BE TROUBLED!

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

RISE ABOVE TROUBLE!

2 Thes. 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

I. BE A PRISONER OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION!

IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE AND JOY?

Zech. 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

A. Is it possible to move in faith and have no hope?

B. Is it possible to declare hope and know no faith?

II. HAVE A SENSE OF DIRECTION?

STEALING THE BELL

A. In the North Sea at Firth of Tay, Scotland there is a dangerous rock to navigators.

Every tide that comes in covers the rock just beneath the surface of the waters.

Many ships have been damaged by this hidden rock.

The Abbot of Aberbrothok fixed a great warning bell and attached it to the rock.

B. Several years the bell ringing was a sound of warning to all ships passing the danger.

No ship was damaged in this time.

C. A sea pirate stole the bell off the rock and sold it for a good profit.

D. 12 months later the pirate that stole the bell, was on a speedy mission and while sailing his ship through the area, crashed his vessel, and he and his

crew perished in the icy cold waters of the North Sea.

E. The pirate perished on the dangerous rocks because he saw little value in the warning bell for sea goers.

III. EVERY SERIOUS WATER VESSEL HAS AN ANCHOR.

Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

A. Did you hear about the man that purchased a brand new boat?

He purchased all the things he needed to appease the Coast Guard. He had life jackets, a horn, a radio, red lights, green lights, a spot light, and he purchased

a very expensive anchor.

B. He and his wife took the large boat out for the maiden voyage. About an hour away from port the husband, now the new captain, gave his wife the

orders to drop the anchor.

C. The wife stepped to the port side and threw the anchor over board. She was so proud.

D. The husband yelled at the top of his voice:

YOU DID NOT TIE THE ROPE TO THE ANCHOR.

So the couple just stood there and watched the anchor go hopelessly out of sight.

E. Many have thrown an unattached anchor into troubled waters.

F. A REAL SERIOUS WATER VESSEL WILL HAVE MORE THAN ONE ANCHOR.

In a storm if you drop one anchor the vessel might spin in circles, another anchor will secure the vessel.

IV. NAVIGATIONAL VALUE! WE NEED A FIXED STAR!

A. NAVIGATION:

***To steer, to manager or control

***The art of traveling or getting things from one place to another.

***Method of determining position, course.

B.Shooting stars have little directional value!

C.There are many thousands of stars. They are all pretty and sparkle in the dark night

sky. Few stars have a real NAVGATIONAL VALUE!

D.THE NORTH STAR OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS A STAR TOWARD WHICH THE AXIS OF THE EARTH POINTS AND IS FAITHFUL AS A NAVIGATIONAL SOURCE!

V. SOUND OUT! KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?

Acts 27:28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

A. In Biblical times a captain of the ship knew the value of the anchor, but he also knew to sound out.

B. They would place something heavy on a rope and throw it into the water.

There would be a knot every so many feet, and the captain would know how deep the water was.

C. In unknown, uncharted waters or in times of storms the captain would post a man in front of the ship to SOUND OUT.

VI. IT IS ESSENTIAL, WE MUST GROW UNWAVERING FAITH BY PRAISE!

A. Fixed

***To make firm or stable ***Establish

***Securely placed or fastened

***Stationary

***Not subject to change of fluctuation

***Firmly set in mind

B. PRAISE AND WORSHIP MUST BE A FIXED ITEM TO OUR HEARTS!