The Anchor Holds
By Pastor Jim May
Hebrews 6:16-20, "For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 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 steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."
There’s a song that Ray Boltz made popular a few years ago that is titled, “The Anchor Holds”. The chorus of that song says this:
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm
On March 6, 1948, at approximately 8:20 AM, my ship set sail for the first time upon the seas of life and for a little over 58 years now that ship has been sailing. In those 58 years there have been a lot of trials and tests. I believe that all of you can say the same thing because I’m not in this boat alone. We are all in this ship together. Your journey may have begun many years before mine, or perhaps you haven’t been in this ship quite as long, but you’re in it now and all you can do is just sail on until your journey comes to its end and you step onto that far shore to receive your eternal reward.
For a long time I sailed on life’s troubled seas, not knowing where I was going, or even why I was here. How many of you can relate to that? James described my condition like this in James 1:6, "… that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." My ship was constantly being tossed around by the waves of life.
One minute the seas of life would be as smooth as a glass and the next minute, the waves would roll, the winds of adversity would blow, and I had lost control. I know that there are many out there who would try to tell you that they are the masters of their own destiny. There may some truth to that, but we do not have control over many of the storms that come our way.
We can try to eat the right foods but that won’t mean that we won’t get sick. We can exercise all the time but that won’t keep you from having physical problems. In fact, it sometimes brings them on quicker.
You can try any preventative methods you want to, rub on all the creams you want to in order to get rid of the signs of aging, and you can take all the vitamins on the market, but none of those will keep you from facing the storms of life that will surely come your way.
Nothing in this world is certain except for uncertainty.
How long did you sail without knowing where you were going? Are you still going through life, day-by-day, and wondering why you are here and were you are going? Do you feel like you are just being tossed about by everything that comes along? Do you have an anchor that you can hold on to?
Most of the people I know are just drifting through life without a purpose and not knowing where they are going. They take each day, one at a time, and wonder what tomorrow will hold. They have no anchor, nothing to give them peace and nowhere to turn in the times of trouble.
I’m glad to know that I have found an anchor for my ship of life. There’s something that I can place all of my trust in, and rely upon, to keep me safe in the storms of life. That anchor is in Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages.
It was about 12 years into my journey on this ship that I found that anchor. That was the day that I took hold of the rope that anchors me in Christ. Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, came to me, called me by name, chose me, He picked me of all people, and said, “Here son, catch hold of this rope and anchor your soul in Me.” I want to tell you that I took hold of that anchor rope and since that day life has been a better journey.
(Take Hold of the Rope used in illustrating the anchor. It is tied to the ceiling above the pulpit.)
Now I have hope. I know my purpose. I know my destination. I can almost see that lights on that other shore. My anchor holds and I’m sailing home.
On the day that Jesus was born into this world, the anchor began to form. For 33 ½ years He sailed this sea of life right along with us but he never lost His way like all the rest of us. He was anchored to Heaven’s Throne. Jesus came to the this world so that you and I could get hold of that same anchor and have real hope.
What is that hope? Is it like saying, “I hope I get a raise”? Is it like saying, “I hope I get to buy that new car next year”? No, it’s a far greater hope than that! Jesus came to give us the great hope, the full assurance, the anchor of our lives that lets us know that He has prepared a place for us, and made a way for us to get to Heaven, where we will spend eternity in peace and joy. Thank God for the anchor!
When Jesus went back into Heaven He didn’t leave us without hope. He took hold of the other end of my life and anchored it to the Throne of Almighty God.
The scriptures we read in Hebrews said that Jesus went beyond the veil that separated us from God, with one hand on the lives of men and the other on the glory of Heaven and there He was given all power in Heaven and in Earth. Now, by His power, and through His shed blood, we are able to be forever anchored to Him.
We have an anchor that is steadfast. In nautical terms the steadfast part of the anchor isn’t the anchor itself, nor the chain or rope it’s tied to. The steadfast part is the ocean floor.
My anchor is not in soft sand, or in the seaweed, or attached to a false stone or idol. My anchor is steadfast; fastened in the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ, who never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. My life is anchored on the end and attached to something that will never move, never change and never let go.
What does this anchor do for me?
This anchor keeps us from drifting too far from where God wants me to be.
Jesus knows that I have a tendency to drift away from the place where I’m supposed to be. But when I start drifting a little too far, my anchor holds, and it yanks my chain pulling me back to Jesus.
When I haven’t been praying like I should, or reading the Word like I should, I’ve had the Lord yank my chain in the middle of the night, wake me up, and I can hear the voice the Lord in my heart saying, “Son, you’re drifting too far away. It’s time to come back.”
My anchor sets boundaries on how far I can go. The only way I can go too far is to turn loose of the anchor.
Being a Christian means that I need to maintain a relationship with the Lord and meet certain standards. There are some things I can’t do and there are some places I just can’t go. But I’d rather have Jesus than all those things anyway. I know that my Lord is real. I know that He has given me a sure foundation. I have His promise in the Word of God and I can feel him in my soul.
Because He has anchored my life in righteousness I can’t hold on to the rope of hope in Christ and go out into the world of sin. You can’t hold on to Jesus with one hand and the world with the other. The anchor isn’t long enough. You have to turn loose of the world and hold on to Jesus with both your hands, with all your mind, soul, heart and strength.
This anchor gives me access to the Throne of God.
The Bible says we have been made to sit in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. How is that possible? We have hold of one end of this anchor, and He is the other end at the Throne of Grace. When I fall on my knees, or on my face before God, my rope of hope gives a little tug that reaches into the Throne room of Grace and tugs at the heart of God.
It’s like the in the movies where a deep sea diver will tie a rope to their belt and give three tugs on the rope when they need help.
When we pray we tug on the rope and heaven goes into action on our behalf. Jesus won’t let us drown.
Isaiah 43:1-3, "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:"
My anchor gives me a source of power to draw upon.
My rope of hope, anchored in Jesus, acts a lot like an extension cord that plugged into a power outlet on the other end. It is connecting me to the greatest power source there is.
As long as I hold on to Jesus, He will sustain me. I can’t hold this rope by my own power, but I must decide to take hold. After that, it is the power of God that helps me to hold on to Jesus.
As long as I decide to hold on to Jesus, He will hold on to me and no power on earth, nor power of hell, can separate me from the love of God that binds me to my anchor. Jesus supplies the power for me to maintain my hold.
You may face situations that look hopeless, but hold on, there is hope. You may feel helpless, but there is still help. You may feel powerless, but hold on, the anchor holds and there is power to see you through.
Are you anchored in Jesus right now? Is your anchor holding? Have you turned loose of the hope that is only found in Jesus? Where else can you find an anchor that sure like this one?
Take hold of Hope. Hold on to the rope of salvation that is anchored in Jesus. You can hold on with confidence and with assurance that it will never break, wear out or turn loose.
My Anchor Holds this morning? How about yours?
