Anchored in Jesus
Hebrews 6:13-7:10
One of the greatest problems we face today is a lost of trust. It used to be that in the past a man’s word was a man’s word. Contracts would be signed with a simple handshake and a promise or pledge. There was little need for lawyers or documents in triplicate. If a person promised to do something, their honor and their family name depended upon them following through with their pledge or vow.
Not so today. Today we are cynical and question everyone’s motives. You can’t trust the clergy. The scandals of televangelists and catholic priests have destroyed that sense of trust. You can’t trust doctors. They may be pressured to prescribe treatments in order to fulfill insurance obligations or contracts they have made with pharmaceutical companies. You can’t trust corporate America. They discard you like an old dishrag. You can’t trust educators; not when teachers are sleeping with students and administrators bow down to school board demands. You can’t trust what you read in print; not when the New York Times reports falsified stories, or Dan Rather gets caught with a bogus document.
It becomes a struggle to live in such a world. Who do I get to watch my kids when I am away in a world where babysitters have been known to rape, steal, and murder children? Who do I get to do a repair on my home when contractors have been known to rip off people and do shoddy and sometimes dangerous work? What church do I get involved in when so many churches have had cases of abuse or immoral behavior?
I guess the only one I can really trust is me! And so we live in a world of suspicion and shattered community. But in the fog of all this deception and doubt rises scripture where we read:
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:3-4)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
But can I trust God? If I can’t trust my neighbor who I can see, how do I trust a God that is invisible? How do I know for sure that He can be trusted?
Jesus had said that it is not the amount of trust we have, after-all he said only a mustard seed of faith was enough, but it was the object of our trust that really mattered. I need only a little faith in a very big God.
That is the focus of today’s sermon which is titled: Anchored in Jesus!
Many years ago, a captain of an English ship sailing near Turkey was caught in a storm. He was too far from any harbor, so he let down the ship’s anchor, but the storm was too fierce and wind blew so strongly that the anchor did not hold.
Refusing to give up, he dropped a second anchor, but this one also did not take hold and the ship was coming dangerously close to the rocky shoreline.
There was only one little anchor left. Surely if the two larger anchors had failed, this one would do no good. But the captain had no other choice, and so he threw the final little anchor overboard. To his surprise, the little anchor held and the ship was able to ride out the storm.
After the storm had passed the captain ordered that the anchors be raised. The first and second large anchors both came up easily because they had not stuck in the seabed. But the little anchor refused to let go of its grip. Finally after a great deal of battling with this little stubborn anchor it was brought to the surface and when it came out of the water they discovered that this anchor had snagged on to the ring of an enormous anchor that had probably belonged to a large battleship lost years before.
You see, the little anchor had no strength within its self, but when hooked on to the large anchor – all the strength of that anchor was transferred to the little anchor, enough to ride out the roughest of storms.
Jesus is the anchor of every believer’s life. Though our faith is small, his strength is enough to sustain us, to carry us through, to finish the race, and to win the prize of eternal life.
The writer of Hebrews has been warning his readers to not give up. They were in danger of letting go of Christ. Some he feared never really knew Christ. They weren’t truly saved people, and they needed to have a conversion experience. They needed to become born again.
But others were wavering in their faith and were struggling to survive as Christians in a hostile world. The words of encouragement in Hebrews 6 are written to ensure them that Jesus is able to finish what he has started in them.
Theme: Jesus is the anchor for every believer. He will not fail to bring them home!
Let’s look at Hebrews 6:13-20
a. God does not lie. His Word can be trusted.
Look at verses 13-18
Thousands of years ago, God called a man out of his pagan roots and made a promise to him. He called him to leave his own country, the country of his father, and go to a better country. He called him to trust in a God who was personal and who was real and who always kept his word.
In Genesis 12:1-3 God said to Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Now what is amazing about Abraham is that He took God at His word and obeyed Him. That is why Paul describes Abraham in Romans 4:11 as the father of all those who trust in God. He trusted in Jahweh before there was a temple, before there was a priesthood, before there was a Jewish nation, before there was circumcision as an outward sign of an inner faith, before all of this Abraham believed God and was called a righteous man because of his faith. Paul says: His faith justified him before God and he was saved through that faith.
God made an oath or a pledge to Abraham. He said: “Go and I will establish you in a new place, with a new family, and through your family every person on earth will be blessed.”
But the years passed. Abraham did leave his country. He did arrive in Canaan. But for more than 25 years he remained childless. Where was this promised child who would be the beginning of the great nation God had promised to make?
In Genesis 15, God’s promised to Abraham is stated again. He takes him to look at the stars in the sky and reminds him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars. And Genesis 15:6 we read: “Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Then the Lord told Abraham of the 400 years of slavery and of their deliverance from Egypt and return to Canaan. God confirmed his covenant with Abraham again by a vision of a blazing torch and a smoking firepot passing between the divided animal sacrifice.
The God changed Abram’s name to Abraham signifying the greatness of his descendants. The covenant was sealed as an everlasting covenant. God, who cannot lie, would fulfill what He had promised. Circumcision was given as a sign of this promise to the people.
Finally, after many years of waiting, Isaac was born. God’s promised child had come. But Abraham was tested once again. He was to sacrifice his only Son, Isaac. How could this be? Why would God demand such a thing? But Abraham obeyed and took his Son, the child of the promise to the mountain to be sacrificed.
When God had seen the totality of his faith and obedience, God stopped his hand from sacrificing his Son and reiterated the covenant he had made with Abraham and his descendants. In Genesis 22:16 we read: “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore…and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
When someone makes a promise they agree to it in a variety of different ways according to the culture. When Boaz promised to take Ruth as his wife he took off his sandal and gave it to signify that his word was good. He would do what he said.
When we make a promise, we may sign a contract or a legal document. When we marry we give our spouse a ring as a pledge of our commitment and fidelity.
In ancient times men might swear by heaven or by the temple. They vowed to do what they said. Even if it hurt them, they would fulfill their vows because to not do this was a great dishonor and sin.
If anyone questioned a person’s willingness to follow through, they only needed to present the shoe, or the ring, or the contract, or whatever it was that they had given or vowed as collateral for their pledge.
Now look at verse 17.
God wanted to make his purpose very clear to Abraham, the Jewish nation to follow and to us.
And so he confirmed his promise with an oath. These are the two things that are unchanging upon which we can build our trust and confidence in God’s ability to accomplish what He has said.
First, there is His unchanging nature. God does not change. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Perfection does not stop being perfection, nor does it become more perfect. God, by His very nature is as loving and a true and as holy and as righteous as He always was and always will be. It is impossible for God to lie. There is no darkness in Him. There is nothing in Him that could be deceptive or confusing. God does not say one thing, and then do another.
The second thing that is unchanging is His promise or oath. God did not have to make an oath. He did not need to swear by anything. But in order to give us confidence and assurance, He made a contract or a pledge with men. If God does not follow through on His Word, then He is not God and should not be followed or trusted. Only a God who keeps His Word should be obeyed.
As believers in Jesus, God has given us His promise as well. We read in John 1:12 “As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God.” In John 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” I John 5:13-15 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that is if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lords will be saved.”
The Holy Spirit is given as a down-payment, an engagement ring, a promise of God’s pledge to us that He has saved us and that He will take us home to be His own bride.
In short God can be trusted. He does not lie. If he said it; He will do it.
And what is amazing about all of this, and one of the many reasons why I believe that the Word of God is real and can be trusted, is the truth of this promise to Abraham.
Think for a moment. Thousands of years ago, God pledged that Abraham would have a new country, Canaan. He promised that Abraham, who was very old and well-beyond the child-bearing years, would have children as numerous as the stars in heaven. He promised that through the descendants of Abraham, all the people of earth would be blessed.
Well let’s look at what has happened over the millennium. Canaan became the home of the children of Abraham, Israel. For thousands of years Israel has been the home of the Jewish people. Though they were in exile for much of the Christian era in 1948 they were returned to their homeland. Though countless tyrants and murderers have tried to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth from the time of Queen Esther to the time of Hitler and today the Arab world – they have been unable to destroy this people. Today there are 14 million plus Jewish descendants of Abraham from blood and hundreds and hundreds of millions of Abraham’s children by spiritual birth. And from the line of Abraham, came Jesus Christ the Messiah through whom all the peoples of the earth will be and are being blessed!
God’s Word can be trusted. No other book has stood the test of time. No other word has been fulfilled to the very smallest letter.
We can trust in God because of who He is, and because of His pledge to us.
b. God keeps every promise He makes.
What are some of the promises He has made to you and to me?
“I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb 13:5)
“I am your shield” (Genesis 15:1)
“I will strengthen you” (Isaiah 41:10)
“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” (Jeremiah 20:11)
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
“No good thing will he withhold from them that work uprightly” (Psalm 84:11)
‘The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake.” (I Samuel 12:22)
“The meek He will guide” (Psalm 25:9)
“All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Do not doubt His words of hope! Do not question His unfailing love and commitment to you. When we come to Him in humility and brokenness, He will never cast us out!
Verse 12 last week we read:
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Imitate the faith of Abraham. Imitate the faith of Job. Imitate the faith of Paul. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!
Remember it isn’t how much faith, but the object of your faith. Is your God too small?
c. Jesus, our priest, stands ready to help us.
Verse 19 – 7:10
Under the Old Testament priesthood, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. The Holy of Holies was a hidden part of the temple, behind a massive veil, where the seat of mercy was kept. The high priest would be selected by lot and enter on the Day of Atonement to make a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. It never took away the sins of the people, it simply satisfied as a type of sacrifice. The people placed their faith in this sacrifice to satisfy the righteousness of God.
But the High Priest never stayed in the Holy of Holies. He would quickly get in and get out, for fear of being in the presence of God. No man can see God and live.
Often the high priest would have a rope tied around his foot in case he stayed in their too long, they could pull him out.
Jesus, as our high priest, has entered the Holy of Holies with His own blood. He has made a sacrifice for our sins and satisfied the righteous requirements of the law. The curtain has been torn in two, the temple has been destroyed, and the priesthood has ended.
But Jesus remains in the holy place, the temple in heaven, as our high priest. He hasn’t left his priestly role, but continues it for all eternity.
Our hope, or anchor, is in the Lord. An anchor was understood in Hellenistic culture as a symbol of stability and security. A ship without an anchor is worthless. It simply drifts around the ocean being pulled by the currents and winds. An anchor secures a ship to a safe harbor.
Jesus is our anchor, and He is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. This anchor does not bend or break. This anchor does not wear out. This anchor will not let go of us.
Our salvation is in remaining tethered to the anchor.
To further drive home this point, the writer describes Jesus’ priesthood as coming before the priesthood of the Jewish people. The Jewish people had been instructed to have priests who only came from the tribe of Levi. The high priest needed to be a direct descendant of Aaron.
But before Aaron, and before the Levites, their father Abraham had submitted to a different priest, Melchizedek.
Melchizedek was a type of Christ, just like the Passover lamb was a type of lamb of God. We will study more about Melchizedek next week, but let me make a few quick observations:
Melchizedek’s priesthood had 5 qualities that made it unique:
1. It was a universal priesthood, not just a priesthood for one nation like the Jewish nation. He is referred to as a priest of El Elyon, the name which is translated as the most high God. This was a universal name for God.
2. It was a royal priesthood. The Levites could never be king. But Melchizedek was both a priest and a king. He was the king of Salem or peace. Salem was the ancient city of Jerusalem.
3. It was a righteous and peaceful priesthood. The name of Melchizedek means king of righteousness.
4. It was a personal priesthood and not an inherited priesthood. The Levi’s were priests simply because they were born in the right family. It has nothing to do with qualifications of holiness. You could be a lousy priest or a good priest.
5. It was an eternal priesthood. The writer made up a word that did not exist in the Greek language because it never applied to anyone else. The word is agenealogetos which means without genealogy. He didn’t have a mother or father, at least none that were known. No beginning and no end.
Melchizedek came before Abraham. Abraham paid respect to Melchizedek, gave an offering, and was blessed by this priest. And so all of Abraham’s descendants were blessed in their father by this priest. And all of Abraham’s descendants made and offering through Abraham to this priest.
Jesus, like Melchizedek, is a king and a priest of righteousness. His priesthood is never ending. He remains a priest on our behalf today.
Jesus is our sure anchor. The anchor holds.
Who can you trust? Can you trust your boss? Can you trust your family? Can you trust yourself?
Everyone lets you down, because we all are sinners saved by grace. Man fails man. But there is a God in heaven who always keeps His Word. There is a God in heaven that has made specific promises to us. For thousands of years He has fulfilled those promises, and He isn’t going to stop just because you are having a bad day.
Look to Jesus. He is your priest. He is in the Holy Place. He intercedes day and night for you. He knows what you need. He cares for everything that concerns you. He calls you and invites you to come, come and be filled, come and be refreshed, come and be saved, come and find peace.
Who you gonna trust? Trust in Jesus, the anchor of your soul!
And how do you demonstrate trust in Him?
- Abraham believed God and left his father and his homeland for a better country.
- Abraham believed God and waited patiently for that child that was promised.
- Abraham believed God and was willing to let everything go, even his beloved Son, if that was what God wanted – because He believed that God would bless and fulfill His promises.
- What is God calling you to do today?
- Where is God calling you to go today?
- What is God asking you to wait for today?
- What is God challenging you to leave today?
- What promises does He invite you to hold on to today?
Let’s Pray.
