INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO- Apollo 13
• SLIDE #1
• Life can throw some difficult situations at us can’t it?
• Life is not always easy and for many it is never easy.
• That reality leads us to a key question this this morning. How do I deal with the hardships and struggles in life?
• Since God does not promise to shield us from the difficulties of life how do we get through, how do we face situations that seem hopeless?
• The situation that Tom Hanks character found himself in would be enough to scare most people because it was looking hopeless; however, when the situation seemed to turn from bad to worse, he was able to get through.
• When life looks hopeless, we have to have something to cling to in life.
• What I want us to grasp today is the fact that I can cope with all the hardships of life because I have hope in Jesus!
• Jesus gives us hope, and hope can assist us in enduring the difficulties of life.
• Hope is a complex subject because if we are not careful, we can place our hope in the wrong place in life and come out extremely disappointed one day.
• For many, stating that Jesus is our hope is such a foreign concept, they cannot understand why one would put their hope so deep into Jesus that they are willing to change their entire life’s purpose to live for Him.
• As we are being transformed into the image of Jesus, our hope should be something that grows.
• Once again, think of the 12 Apostles, then the 11. When they walked with Jesus, the did not place their hope fully on Jesus.
• We know this is the case because when Jesus was taken, they ran. However, after the resurrection, they all stood strong for Jesus.
• Their hope was in the right place.
• Let’s look at why we can place our hope in Jesus! We will be in Hebrews 6:17-20 this morning.
• In this passage, the Hebrew writer has been talking about God making His promise to Abraham to make him a great nation. At age 75 he had no children, 25 years later he had his first son with Sarah, who was 90 at the time!
• SLIDE #2
• Hebrews 6:17–18 (HCSB) — 17 Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. The hope of the Christian is based on the character of God. 17-18
• The tricky thing about hope is the fact that hope has to be anchored to something real.
• For many, having hope in Jesus is like having hope in a fairytale because they do not know or understand the nature of God.
• I can hope to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season; however, that hope has no reality to it or no possibility of happening.
• For hope to be HOPE, that hope has to be based on something real. That hope has to be based on something reliable, that hope has to be based on something that can deliver!
• In the context of God dealings with Abraham, we are told that God not only wanted to make a promise to Abraham, but He also backed that promise with an oath.
• Men take an oath to remove doubt about their truthfulness. We take an oath before we would testify in a court to swear we will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
• God does not lie; however, to alleviate any apprehension on the part of Abraham that what God was says would not come true, God offered an oath.
• WE have this recorded in Genesis 22:16-17 where God told Abraham after Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.
• God wanted it to be absolutely clear to Abraham and the other heirs of the promise that God’s promises would be fulfilled!
• Christians are the heir to the promises of God!
• SLIDE #4
• Galatians 3:7 (HCSB) then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.
• Now God made a promise and an oath to back up the promise.
• Verse 18 says that there are 2 unchangeable things by which we can base our hope.
• The two things are God’s oath and His promises!
• When God speaks something, it is done in such a way as if the event has already happened!
• God does not or cannot lie! God does not break His promises!
• Christians have more than Abraham had to see the truthfulness of God’s promises, we have Jesus, whom God sent to die for our sins and to rise on the third day so that we could enjoy eternal life!
• What are you basing your hope for life and eternal life? Are you basing you hope on your talents, your treasures, your health? All those can fail you, God will not fail to deliver on His promises.
• People will let you down, some of you were promised till death do us part, until times got tough or someone else stepped into the picture. God will not let you down!
• The end of verse 18 alludes to the imagery of the Old Testament cities of refuge.
• We who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
• In the Old Testament, if you accidently killed someone, you could flee to one of the six cities of refuge (three on each side of the Jordan) and the victim’s family could not seek vengeance on you so long as you stayed in the city of refuge OR one could return home with legal protection if the High Priest died while you were in the city of refuge (Numbers 35:28).
• So long as one stayed in the city of refuge, they could not be touched and after trial if found innocent, they still had to remain in the city.
• The connection for us is that as long as we stay holding fast to Jesus, we can find hope in the Gospel!
• We have all sinned and fallen short and outside of Jesus, we are toast! In Christ we are safe and free!
• Verse 19 offers something important to know.
• SLIDE #5
• Hebrews 6:19 (HCSB) We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
• SLIDE #6
II. Hope is the anchor one needs in life. 19
• The image shifts from the cities of refuge to that of an anchor.
• An anchor is meant keep a ship from crashing into the rocks in the midst of a storm.
• As long as the anchor holds, the ship will be safe.
• Hope for heaven is compared to an anchor.
• Hope is what keeps a person anchored, it is the antithesis despair that can grip one in the middle of difficult times.
• In the during the storms and trials of life, where are you anchored?
• Hope accomplishes for the soul the same things that an anchor does foe the ship, it keeps the soul safe and secure.
• We are told our hope in Christ is both sure and steadfast!
• There are two important issues concerning the effectiveness of any anchor.
• The first is the construction of the anchor.
• The arms of the anchor must be strong enough not to bend out of shape or break and give way when the pressure is on.
• The second important issues that we affect the effectiveness of the anchor is LOCATION!
• If an anchor is dropped by has nothing to grab on to, the ship will crash into the rocks as the anchor is dragging on the sandy bottom.
• Many people think they have built a strong anchor, yet they drop it on to a sandy bottom and it does not hold.
• Verse 19 tells us that the location of the Christian’s anchor of hope is in the safest possible place, inside the veil!
• The veil of the Tabernacle and of the Temple separated the Holy Place from the most sacred Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies represented the place God resided.
• Abraham was able to rest his hope in the promise of God. As heirs of the promise, we have more in which to have confidence in God, we have seen the fulfillment of the promises through Jesus!
• What is your anchor made of? What is your anchor hooked into?
• How many times has your anchor either broke or just dragged the bottom of the sandy ocean floor, leaving you exposed and hurt?
• SLIDE #7
• Hebrews 6:19–20 (HCSB) — 19 We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
• SLIDE #8
III. Jesus blazed the trail so our hope could be realized. 19-20
• Staying with the imagery of the Holy of Holies, we are told that we can have a confident hope because Jesus blazed the trail so that our hope could be realized!
• Jesus entered as a FORERUNNER! A FORERUNNER WAS ONE WHO WOULD GO IN BEFORE ANOTHER WOULD GO!
• Jesus was of a different order than all the Old Testament priests. He did not just go into a little room that represented heaven, He resides in Heaven!
• The Old Testament priest could not take ANYONE else with him in the Holy of Holies.
• Jesus, as forerunner will lead those who are covered by His blood to Heaven itself!
• The Hebrew writer shows us that the Priesthood of Melchizedek was eternal in its origin and scope. Melchizedek was mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20 and not mentioned again until Psalm 110 where we are told the Priesthood of the Messiah would be enteral like that of Melchizedek.
• I watch a show called Expedition Unknown with Josh Gates. He looks at some of the legendary mysteries of history. Sometimes his search requires him to drop into holes in the ground, caves, crawling under buildings.
• Many times we will allow the person he is working with to go first. I do not blame HIM!
• Going first can be scary and dangerous!
• WILD KINGDOM!
• Our HOPE is not one fear because JESUS our FORERUNNER blazed the trail, He want first so that we need not be fearful!
CONCLUSION
• How is your life going? Is your life full of hope or are you living in constant despair because your hope is placed in the wrong place?
• Or maybe your anchor seemed to be strong.
• Your anchor was your spouse or your marriage, both seemed like great anchors, but your children grew up, and maybe your spouse left you or died? And now you are being tossed against to rocks and you are about to bust apart at the seams.
• How about plugging into a new hope, a hope that will not let you down or disappoint!
