A. The story is told of a time when a storm was raging on the open sea, and a sea captain realized his ship was sinking fast.
1. He called out to his crew, “Does anyone here know how to pray?”
2. One crewman stepped forward, saying, “Aye, Captain, I know how to pray.”
3. “Good,” said the captain, “you pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets – we are short one life jacket.”
B. In October of 1991, a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off Gloucester, Massachusetts.
1. The storm was officially known as “the Halloween nor’easter of 1991.”
2. It has been called the “Perfect Storm” inspiring both the book and movie with the same title.
3. It is called the “Perfect Storm” because three storms combined into one – It included the remains of Hurricane Grace that was beginning to die out in the Atlantic, coupled with energy coming across the Great Lakes, and an old frontal system hanging around New England.
4. Sebastian Junger in his book “The Perfect Storm” wrote: “A mature hurricane is by far the most powerful event on Earth. The combined nuclear arsenals of the United States and the former Soviet Union don’t contain enough energy to keep a hurricane going for one day.”
5. In the case of the Perfect Storm, when these three storms combined, it regenerated the hurricane creating an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic Ocean.
a. Boats encountered waves of 100 feet tall - the equivalent of a ten-story building.
b. Winds blasted over the ocean at more than 100 mph.
c. Waves 30 and 40 feet high battered the New England coast, destroying 200 homes, and property damage totaling $500 million.
d. Nine people died, including the six-man crew of the fishing boat named the Andrea Gail from Gloucester, Massachusetts.
C. Thankfully, a perfect storm like that doesn’t happen too often, but a person doesn’t have to live very long before they encounter the storms of life.
1. It might not be in the form of a hurricane, but it could be through a serious illness, the loss of a job, the break-up of a marriage, the problems in a church, or the death of a loved one.
2. The storms of disease and defeat; the storms of divorce and depression can come upon us suddenly.
D. As you know very well, our world is suddenly caught in the huge storm of a pandemic.
1. In a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 virus has spread around the world, bringing physical death, economic downturn, and an upheaval to everyday life.
2. But in addition to these real physical challenges, the pandemic has also brought an overwhelming panic and fear about the present and the future.
3. And in the middle of this “perfect storm” of epic proportions, what we need more than anything else is an anchor – we need the anchor of hope that comes from the promises of God.
4. Like the sea captain in my opening story – in the midst of the storm we are experiencing, the collective voice of the world around us is crying out in fear: “Does anybody have an anchor? Does anybody know how to pray?”
5. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a time for us to step forward and say, “We have an anchor, and we know how to pray!”
6. Our God hears our prayers and our God keeps His promises – this is where our hope comes from.
7. By faith we can sing, “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”
E. The present storm that we face may be new to us – because in our lifetimes, we have never been through anything like this - but this is nothing new for God.
1. Since our God created human beings thousands and thousands of years ago, God has been carrying His people of faith through the storms of life.
2. At this point, we don’t know how long this storm will last or how great will be the toll of death and destruction, but we know God will carry us through, because God has done it over & over.
3. God has brought people of faith through so many things throughout history.
a. God carried His people through the seven years of the Bubonic Plague from 1346 to 1353, where between 75-200 million people died.
b. God carried His people through the Spanish Flu of 1918, where between 20-50 million people died.
c. God carried His people through the two years of the Asian Flu of 1956-58, where 2 million people died.
d. And God carried His people through the HIV/AIDS Pandemic of 2005-2012, where 36 million people died.
4. And to help give us needed perspective, let’s keep in mind that every year in the United States millions of people die from various “natural” causes.
a. In 2018, 2 million, 813 thousand, 503 people died of various causes.
b. That number was comprised of about 650,000 from heart disease, about 600,000 from cancer, 170,000 from accidents, 150,000 from stroke, 55,000 from flu and pneumonia, and 47,000 from suicide.
F. Life has its challenges all the time, but especially during the storms of life, and that’s why we need the anchor of God’s promises.
1. For Christmas last year, I received a gift from my daughter, Abby, and son-in-law, Zach, the gift is Max Lucado’s book “Unshakable Hope: Building Our Lives on the Promises of God.”
2. When I started to read the book earlier this year, I had no idea how much I needed to be reminded of God’s promises, and to be reminded that hope in God is my anchor.
3. As I neared the end of the Romans sermon series that we just brought to completion, I knew that the subject of hope was the next subject I needed to discuss with our church family.
4. So today’s sermon begins a new series I’m calling “Hope: The Anchor of God’s Promises.”
5. As we move through this series on hope, I will be leaning on Max’s book and his insights, because they were such a blessing to me and I want them to be a blessing to you.
G. In Acts chapter 26, when the Apostle Paul was on trial before King Agrippa, he made an interesting statement: “And now I stand on trial because of the hope in what God promised to our ancestors.”
1. What does Paul say his biggest crime was? What did he say he was on trial for? Putting his hope in God’s promises.
2. Paul built his life and ministry on the promises of God.
3. Paul believed and trusted in the promises of God.
4. And so did all of the “heroes” of the Bible.
5. The one common denominator for all the “heroes” of the Bible is that they built their lives on the promises of God.
H. Bring to your mind several biblical heroes and see if what I’m saying is true.
1. Because of God’s promises, Noah built an ark, believing it was going to rain, even though it had never ever rained before. Why did he know it was going to rain, because God said so.
2. Because of God’s promises, Abraham left a good home for one he had never seen.
3. Because of God’s promises, Joshua led two million people into enemy territory – the Promised Land.
4. Because of God’s promises, the young David took on a giant named Goliath, armed only with a sling and five smooth stones.
I. One student of Scripture spent a year and a half searching the Bible for all the promises God has made and came up with a total of 7,487 promises! That’s a lot of promises!
1. Max Lucado says, “God’s promises are pine trees in the Rocky Mountains of Scripture: abundant, unbending, and perennial.”
2. That’s a powerful illustration – God’s promises are like a forest of trees – vast, tall, immovable.
3. Some of God’s promises are positive – they are assurances of blessings.
4. Some of God’s promises are negative – they are guarantees of consequences.
5. But all of God’s promises are binding: because God is not only a promise maker, He is a promise keeper.
J. God’s promises are sure and unchangeable because of whom God is. And who is God and what is He like?
1. First, God is unchanging.
a. God is able to see the end from the beginning.
b. God is not victimized by moods or the weather.
c. James says of God that He “does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
2. Second, God is powerful.
a. God does not over promise or under-deliver.
b. In Romans 4:21, Paul says that Abraham had believed “what God had promised, he was also able to do,” and Abraham was right.
c. God is so powerful that He can complete whatever He promises.
3. Third, God is faithful.
a. The writer of Hebrews tells us to: “hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23)
b. That’s God’s resume! God’s track record is faithfulness.
4. Fourth, God is truthful - He tells the truth, He cannot lie.
a. The writer of Hebrews tells us: “it is impossible for God to lie.” (Heb. 6:18)
b. When Paul wrote to Titus, he reminded him of: “the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” (Titus 1:2)
c. These verses don’t say that it is unlikely that God will lie, or improbable that God will lie.
d. No, the truth about God is clear: God cannot lie, lying is impossible for God, because God doesn’t just speak the truth, truth is what God is.
K. So the question is not, will God keep His promises, He will, He has to, He cannot do otherwise.
1. No the real question is: will we build our lives upon God’s promises?
L. Max Lucado tells a great story that I can relate to, maybe you can too.
1. Max tells about having a shaky left thumb – the thumb trembled so much that if he took a drink in his left hand it would slosh it everywhere.
2. Max said that the shaking of his thumb really shook him, because his father had died of ALS.
3. So, Max eventually went to see a neurologist.
4. After putting Max through a variety of tests, the doctor said, “There is no need to worry about it, you don’t have any disease.”
5. Max said, “Are you sure?” The doctor said, “I’m sure.”
a. “No treatment?” “Nope.” “No wheelchair?” “Nope.”
b. Max asked, “Are you sure?”
c. The doctor said, “I promise, the tremor in your thumb is nothing to worry about.”
6. Max thanked him and walked out.
a. He felt much relieved as he climbed in his car and began to drive home.
b. While stopped at a traffic light, he noticed his left hand on the steering wheel and guess what his thumb was doing? Yup, it was shaking.
7. Max said that for the first time since the tremor had appeared, he had the opportunity to look at it differently.
a. He could ponder the problem, or he could remember the promise.
b. He could choose anxiety, or he could choose hope. He opted for hope.
M. I can identify with Max to some degree, because about a year and a half ago, I had my annual check-up and my very thorough family practitioner saw something he didn’t like in my blood work.
1. He told me we would wait a month and do the blood work again and see if things normalized.
2. The second blood test still had him concerned, so he sent me to a doctor who specializes in hematology and oncology.
3. No one likes the term oncology – too many in my family have died of cancer – including my biological father who died at age 31.
4. As is often the case, I had to wait a couple of months to see the specialist. Waiting is so much fun, isn’t it?
5. When the appointment arrived, the specialist looked at the numbers from the two earlier tests, looked me over and said I looked pretty healthy, but he thought he should send me for more detailed tests just to be sure there wasn’t a problem.
6. Several weeks later, we returned to the specialist to get the results.
7. The doctor entered the room and with a smile on his face gave me a clean bill of health – he said, “The anomalies in your numbers must be your normal. Go and enjoy your life.”
8. Just like Max, I could focus on the anomaly, or I could focus on the doctor’s conclusion.
a. I could choose to worry about it, or I could go live with hope and peace.
b. I opted for hope and peace.
N. So, what is shaking your world? It’s probably not a trembling thumb or an unusual lab result.
1. What is shaking your world might be this virus crisis we find ourselves in.
2. What is shaking your world might be your family, or your finances, or your faith.
3. It is a shaky and stormy world that we live in, isn’t it?
4. Could you use an anchor? Could you use some hope? If so, you are not alone.
5. We all need an anchor of hope!
O. As you know, we live in a day of despair – and not just because of the coronavirus.
1. Many things were dark and difficult before this virus hit, even though the economy had been booming and expanding, and unemployment had been at a 50 year low.
2. In spite of having such a good economy, and a world full of technology, entertainment and recreation, many, many people were empty and unhappy.
3. The suicide rate in America has increased 24% in the last 20 years.
4. Alcoholism rose by a shocking 49% in the first decade of the 2000s and now 1 in 8 American adults meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder.
5. But the unhappiness doesn’t cause everyone to turn to drugs and alcohol, or to suicide, it causes other people to turn to bitterness and hatred and violence.
6. We have seen this kind of unhappiness coming out in the incivility of people, online and elsewhere, and we also see it in the mass shootings in schools, concerts, workplaces, churches and synagogues.
7. There were 434 mass shootings in 2019 in the United States injuring 1,643 people and taking the lives of 517 people.
P. People literally are dying for lack of hope – the kind of hope that can only come from God and from trusting in His promises.
1. Secularism sucks the hope out of society.
2. Secularism reduces life to a few decades between birth and hearse.
3. Many people believe this world is as good as it gets, and let’s face it- it’s not always that good!
Q. But we, the people of God, have an advantage over those who don’t believe, because we have the promises of God as an anchor which gives us hope.
1. We stand on the promises of God – we ponder God’s promises, we pray God’s promises, we proclaim God’s promises.
2. Like Paul said of Abraham, that we mentioned earlier: Abraham had believed “what God had promised, he was also able to do” (Rom. 4:21).
3. I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased that verse in “The Message,” he wrote: “Abraham didn’t tiptoe around God’s promises asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong.”
4. When we face the storms of life, we can plunge into God’s promises and come up strong.
R. The promises of God serve like a pharmacist’s shelf of remedies.
1. Just as the doctor might prescribe a different medication for the different illnesses and needs we have, so God has given prescriptive promises for the different problems we face.
2. If we are feeling lonely or fearful today, then we should open a bottle of Hebrews 13:5-6: …for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
3. If the world seems out of control and we are going through hard things, then it’s time for a dose of Romans 8:28: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
4. When we face trouble and persecution, we can fill the prescription of John 16:33, where Jesus said: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
S. In my years of life and ministry, I have discovered that nothing lifts the weary and weakened soul like the promises of God.
1. God governs the universe and this world according to His great and precious promises.
2. What the world needs and what each of us need is not more opinions or hunches, but we need the definitive declarations of our mighty and loving God.
3. And during this sermon series I will be pointing us toward those time tested and trial tested promises of God.
4. They are hope’s anchor and they are a firm foundation on which we can build our lives.
T. As we bring today’s sermon to a close, let me remind you of that story that Jesus told about the two builders in Matthew chapter 7.
1. Both builders had similar supplies and aspirations – each wanted to build a house.
2. But one builder preferred the cheap and easily accessed land of sand.
3. The other builder opted for the more expensive yet more durable foundation of stone.
4. You know what happened in the story and the song – when the rain came down, and the floods came up – then one house went smash and the other house stood firm.
5. Jesus not only told the story, he gave us the moral of the story.
6. What separates the wise builder from the foolish builder is that both people hear God’s words, but only one of them builds his house upon them.
U. Let’s be reminded today of our need to keep building and living according to the Word of God.
1. Let’s hold on to God’s promises knowing that God keeps His promises.
2. And as Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 1:4, God’s promises are very great and precious promises.
2. Through Isaiah the prophet, God made this promise about His Word: “For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
3. Note the certainty of God’s promise about His Word – it always produces fruit and always accomplishes God’s purposes.
4. Let’s picture God’s words falling on us like rain from heaven - let’s imagine that God’s promises are like the gentle showers of Spring.
5. Let’s receive them and allow them to soak deeply into our hearts; producing the fruit of God’s purposes – hope, and strength, and peace – the foundation and anchor we need in life’s storms.
6. Let’s live our lives standing on the promises of God.
Resources:
Unshakable Hope, Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 2018
