The Anchor Still Holds!
Hebrews 6:17-19
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: '`'Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Some people see education as the anchor of civilization, but it was the best educated nation on earth that gave birth to the Nazis. Some see health as an anchor for life, but much of the work in the world is being done by people who don't feel like doing it. Some see stability in wealth--it is their anchor. They may have an experience similar to that of the ship Marine Electric, which sank off the coast of Virginia early in 1983, costing the lives of thirty-one sailors. The reason was this: the ship's eight-ton anchor came loose and battered the hull of the ship until the ship went down. The vessel was destroyed by its own anchor. If wealth is your anchor, it may destroy you. Our hope in Christ is the only unfailing anchor for the soul.
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.
Our hope in Christ is like an anchor for the soul.
This World is like a Sea with human life upon it ... there is the heaving, shifting surface with great tempest that rises and falls, uncertainties with endless and unknown complications.
It is without question that every soul needs an anchor!
An Anchor is that which supports or keeps one steadfast in the time of trial or of doubt.
An Anchor is there to hold the ship firmly to one place when winds and currents would otherwise remove it.
If anything in this world should be strong it is an anchor, for upon it safely and often life depends on it.
To ground hope on a false supposition is like trusting to a weak anchor.
An anchor to be of any good must be cast on good ground!
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8).
It is alright to be caught between a Rock and a Hard Place as long as the Rock is Jesus!
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever" (Jude 24-25).
"Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deut. 7:9).
"For I am the LORD, I change not" (Malachi 3:6).
"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9).
"Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thes. 5:24).
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12).
"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).
"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19).
Why do we need an anchor for the Soul?
1. To keep it from being wreaked!
2. To keep you from drifting!
3. To preserve us from losing the headway which we already made.
4. To keep us constant and useful.
An anchor would be of no use unless we have a hold on it!
There must be a connection between us and the anchor!
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Romans 8:24).
There must be a strong connection between you hope and your soul.
When you can see the anchor it is doing nothing!
When the anchor is out of sight it is doing what it was made to do.
The anchor has an unseen grip.
Do you believe because you have seen, that is not believing.
Hope that is seen is not Hope!
1. The ship that is kept by an anchor although safe, is not at ease! In this world you shall have tribulation!
2. A ship that is held by an anchor in not only tossed in the tempest like other ships, but is tossed more than other ships. A ship which rides on an anchor experiences heaving's that ships which drift with the tide do not know. The drifting ship
before she strikes is smooth and more comfortable than the anchored ship. The pleasures of sin or sweet for a season.
3. When the anchor has been cast into good ground, the heavier the strain that comes on it, the deeper and firmer grows its hold. Instead of temptations and trials driving us away from God they often bring us closer.
Psalm 42:7-8
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Psalm 42:11
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
4. The ship that is anchored is sensitive to every change of wind or tide. You can feel the anchor, and the more the wind rages the more you feel the anchor holding you. A ship is safest with her head to the sea and the tempest. Ships that or not
anchored do not turn and face the foe. The ship that is left loose will be caught by a gust on her side and easily be thrown over.
5. When the ship is anchored and the sea is running high there will be great commotion at her bows. The waves strike in rapid succession, when they strike they are broken. The smoothness at the bows indicates the anchor is dragging. The ship is drifting with the wind and water to the shore.
Don't worry when there is a lot of commotion around you. The rock of ages stills holds the anchor and the anchor stills holds me.
"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4).
"Who [Abraham] against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be" (Romans 4:18).
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3).
When we are trapped in a tunnel of misery, hope points to the light at the end. When we are overworked and exhausted, hope gives us fresh energy
When we are discouraged, hope lifts our spirits. When we are tempted to quit, hope keeps us going. When we lose our way and confusion blurs the destination hope dulls the edge of panic. When we struggle with a crippling disease or a lingering fitness, hope helps us persevere beyond the pain.
When we fear the worst, hope brings reminders that God is still in control.
When we must endure the consequences of bad decisions, hope fuels our recovery. When we find ourselves unemployed, hope tells us we still have a future.
When we are forced to sit back and wait, hope gives us the patience to trust.
When we feel rejected and abandoned, hope reminds us we're not alone we'll make it. When we say our final farewell to someone we love, hope in the life beyond gets us through our grief
Put simply, when life hurts and dreams fade, nothing helps like hope.
Scratched on cellar walls by anonymous people hiding from Nazis's
I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when not feeling it.
I believe in God even when He is silent.
