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!
Psalm 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Psalm 108:1 A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Psalm 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
C.. JOY, HOPE AND FAITH WILL ANCHOR US TO THE ETERNAL.
VII. DEVELOP UNWAVERING FAITH!
A. We must release faith, but we must reign in doubt.
B. Be real, expect and be stable.
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
C. God says be like a child, but He does not want us to be childish!
Ephes. 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
VIII. BIBLICALLY THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF TREES:
Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
A. THE TWO KINDS OF TREES?
1. FRUIT TREES
2. FIRE WOOD TREES
Note: There are no spiritual shade trees.
B. THERE ARE FOUR DEGREES OF FRUIT FOUND IN
JOHN 15:1--5
1. NO FRUIT
2. FRUIT
3. MORE FRUIT
4. MUCH FRUIT
C. THEORY OF A FRUIT TREE? VS LEAVES ONLY.
Matthew 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
D. PRETEND WITH ME?
Let us go and buy a healthy apple seedling tree?
You and I will go in partners and buy this good apple tree. We plant it in your yard, we water it, and fertilize it. It sprouts beautiful leaves.
You go on vacation, and I worry about our apple tree, so I sneak into your yard, and dig up the apple tree and transplant it in my yard. And it is growing.
I asked you to watch over the apple seedling while I go on vacation, so to really care for the tree, you dig it up and place it back in your yard.
So we agree to move the tree 10 times a year so we can both enjoy our investment?
TELL ME HOW MANY APPLES WILL WE GROW BY THE FIFTH YEAR?
Probably after 50 moves in 5 years the tree will die or be dwarfed in growth.
There will be little to no fruit on this mobile tree?
Little to no root structure will develop.
Ephes. 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
E. NO ROOTS --- NO FRUITS
SICKLY ACORNS GROW SICLY OAKS.
F. I am told that most good healthy trees will have roots as deep as the tree is tall.
I am also told that a healthy 30 feet high tree might have roots stretched out 15 feet in any direction?
G. LOVE MUST BE ROOTED AND GROUNDED TO SUSTAIN IN DRY TIMES AND IN STORMY TIMES.
H. A GOOD HEALTHY TREE MUST BE FLEXIBLE TO BEND IN THE WIND!
GOD HELP US GROW INTO PRISONERS OF HOPE.
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;
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
