Steve Sauers | Anchor for Our Soul | Calvary Church

Well, good morning, Calvary Church. If

you would take your Bibles this morning

and turn to Hebrews chapter 6. Also want

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

to welcome those joining us online. Uh

glad you're tuning in with us this

morning. But Hebrews chapter 6, we'll be

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

focusing on verses 9- 20 uh this morning

with this emphasis of the anchor for our

soul.

What is my life anchored in?

You know, life has a way of unsettling

us. Sometimes it's through the weight of

suffering. Sometimes it's the

disappointment we feel when God's uh

timeline doesn't match our own. And

sometimes it's the quiet tension that

comes with waiting.

Waiting for healing, waiting for

answers, waiting for change.

Hebrews is written to believers who were

tired. They were discouraged. They were

drifting. they were suffering

and the writer of Hebrews is is going to

challenge them. He doesn't shame them

and he doesn't threaten them. He's

actually going to anchor them.

He's going to anchor them to a hope that

is grounded in something deeper than

their circumstances.

It's deeper than their feelings or the

emotions that they're wrestling with.

And it's it's deeper than the outcomes

of their situations. It's actually he's

actually going to point them to be

grounded in Jesus

and to give hope to these discouraged

people. What the author is going to do

is he's first going to focus their

attention on the character of God. So

let's pick up our reading in verse 9 of

Hebrews chapter 6.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

Even though we speak like this, dear

friends, we are convinced of better

things in your case.

the things that have to do with

salvation.

God is not unjust.

He will not forget your work and the

love you have shown to him as you have

helped his people and continue to help

them. We want each of you to show this

same diligence to the very end so that

what you hope for may be fully realized.

We do not want you to become lazy, but

to imitate those who through faith and

patience inherit what has been promised.

And when God made his promise to

Abraham, since there was no one greater

for him to swear by, he swore by

himself, saying, "I will surely bless

you and give you many descendants."

And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham

received

what was promised.

You see, the writer of Hebrews is

reminding these believers who were

suffering and who were doubting that God

is trustworthy.

God is trustworthy.

He's committed to his people because

it's grounded in his character. The

first thing I want us to see this

morning is that God's promise is

grounded in his character. Notice what

we saw in verse 10 and then again in

verse 13. In verse 10, we see something

about God's character. It says that God

is not unjust.

And then if you go a couple verses later

in verse 13, we see this phrase when God

made a promise to Abraham, he swore by

himself. Now, what does that mean? And

what does that have to do with God's

character? Well, let me ask you this

this morning. Uh has someone ever made a

promise to you that they never kept?

Anybody? Oh, there's more than that.

There's more than that. Yeah, I'm sure

we've all experienced someone close to

you

making you a promise.

And as you went to hold them to that

promise, unfortunately for many of us,

it never came to fruition.

They broke the promise.

Now, how did that make you feel?

I'm sure this morning that there are 45

year olds in this room that are still

waiting for their parents to take them

to Disneyland, right? I can't be the

only one holding out on that promise,

right?

But unfortunately, when we think of

promises, they normally don't hold any

weight because we assume that the one

who made the promise is going to break

it.

And because that's our experience, we

translate that way of thinking to what

we think about God. And we wonder, is

God true to his promises? Is he true to

his word? Can I trust him?

And to strengthen the hope in the

present, the author is going to point us

to a promise from the past. And that's

what he does in our text this morning.

Now, what is this promise? Well, the the

author of Hebrews is assuming a lot of

you this morning that you actually know

the Old Testament and you know what's

going on all the way back in the

beginning of the story in Genesis 12

through Genesis 22.

And so he's just assuming you have that

knowledge. I don't want to assume that

this morning, but I do want to recall a

few serieses ago as Calvary Church, we

we looked at the story.

Do you remember the story? Act one, God

creates in Genesis 1 and two, God

creates this good world

as it should be, as God intended it to

be. It's in rhythm. It It's shalom is

the Hebrew word. Everything God created

is living under God's rule and his

authority, and it's just in rhythm.

But one page over in Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

we get introduced to act two, which is

God is rejected.

You see, humanity didn't want to live

under the rule and authority of God. So,

they wanted to become their own rule and

authority. And so, they reject God. And

in Genesis 3 through 11, we see sin's

impact on God's good world. The

alienation that comes between humanity

and God. the alienation that we feel in

the brokenness of relationships because

we're alienated from each other because

of sin. And we often feel the effects of

our alienation from God's world.

Sin's impact runs deep in God's world

because man rejected God.

But then you come to Act three, and we

focused on this in that series. Act

three is Genesis chapter 12, which is

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

the writer of Hebrews is pointing us

back to that time. And what do we see in

Genesis chapter 12? Well, God comes to a

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

man named Abram, who his name becomes

Abraham, and he says, "I want to promise

you something.

I want to make you a great nation, and

that nation will become Israel. I want

to make your name great, and I want all

the families of the earth to be blessed

through you." I'm making that promise.

And what is interesting in the midst of

Genesis 12, and just think about this

this morning, that God's answer to man's

rebellion isn't annihilation.

It's actually blessing.

Did you see that? Genesis 1-11, sin's

impact

leading to destruction.

But God in Genesis 12 comes to Abraham

and makes him a promise that I want to

bring blessing to all the families of

the earth. And what is the promise? The

promise to Abraham is this. It's that

God through a deliverer will make a way

of salvation for all who believe.

And that deliverer or that savior will

offer them new life, new identity, union

with God, an inheritance that is

incorruptible and will never fade away.

And he offers this incredible gift that

sin, death, and and and fear will all be

defeated

because of this savior.

And this deliverer is going to come

through your line, Abraham. That's the

promise. I am making.

Now the question I have for us to think

through is was there ever a time when it

seemed like God wouldn't fulfill his

promise?

So God comes and makes this promise to

Abraham. How old is Abraham when God

shows up? He's 75 years old.

Abraham is married but has no children.

So, how in the world is Abraham going to

be the father of a great nation and

blessed all the families of the earth

through this deliverer if he doesn't

even have children?

I'm sure he wondered and questioned what

God's plan was. Any 75 year olds in here

looking to have some children? I doubt

it. Right? So, I'm sure that brought

questions.

Now, how long did it take for God's

promise to come to fruition after God

made the promise? It was 25 years.

I don't know about you, but I get

impatient after waiting 10 minutes for

anything.

But yet, God makes this promise to

Abraham and it doesn't come to fruition

for 25 years. I'm sure that waiting was

hard.

And I know it brought some questions

because as you follow the life of

Abraham, there's a point where he

becomes restless with God and takes

matters into his own hands where he has

a child through one of Sarah's servants

thinking maybe that's what God's plan is

because I can't have children with my

wife.

We're old.

And so we see Abraham's lack of faith or

trust in God's plan

and it led to hardships in their family

dynamic and and and in their life.

So the question I want you to think

through this morning is does it ever

appear to you that during your waiting

and suffering that God has somehow gone

back on his promises?

Just like Abraham would got impatient or

maybe had some questions. Does it ever

appear to you that during your waiting

and suffering that God has somehow gone

back on his promises? Because the writer

of Hebrews is going to point us to this

reality that he can't.

Because the certainty of God's promises

rests in who he is.

The certainty of God's promises rests in

who he is. You see, our confidence isn't

in how things look right now. The

Hebrews were suffering. They're being

persecuted. They're they're they're in

despair.

That's not a good outlook for them. But

their confidence isn't in how things

look right now. It's in who God has

revealed himself to be. That he's

unchanging. He's faithful and he's true.

And the writer of Hebrews is pointing us

to that trajectory to understand that

God is trustworthy. And look at verse

15. And so after Abraham had patiently

endured, he obtained what? He obtained

the promise.

So the cliffnotes version without all

the details is that Abraham waited and

then he inherited because Isaac, the son

of promise, was born.

And the point is this, God can be

trusted.

that God is true to his word because

ultimately his character rests on him

being true.

God's timeline may stretch our faith,

but it never breaks his word.

Never.

And so God made a promise to Abraham.

And then he didn't just make a promise.

God's purpose is confirmed by his oath.

You see, God just doesn't say, "Hey,

this is what I'm going to too. He

actually follows up with that and

confirms it by his oath. Notice verse

16. Let's read some more.

People swear by someone greater than

themselves. And the oath confirms what

it said and puts an end to all the

arguments.

Because God wanted to make the

unchanging nature of his purpose very

clear to heirs of what was promised. He

confirmed it with an oath. And God did

this so that by two unchangeable things

in which it is impossible for God to

lie, we who have fled to take hold of

the hope set before us may be greatly

encouraged.

Now, what is an oath? That's not a word

we use a lot nowadays. But God makes a

promise to Abraham and backs it up with

an oath. Verse 16 explains to you what

the oath is. In the ancient world, they

would make a promise or they would try

to hold people to their word. So, they

would make what is called an oath. And

in verse 16, it says they would swear by

something greater than themselves that

they would follow through with their

word.

It was a way for them to strengthen the

promise.

Now, we do this all the time.

We may not call it an oath, but what do

we do? We say phrases like, "I swear by

my mother's grave," right? Or, "I swear

on the Bible,"

or, "I pinky promise," right? We have

all of these phrases that we use to

communicate our oath to following

through with our word.

And what the writer of Hebrews is doing

is pointing us back to an oath that God

made back in Genesis chapter 22. If you

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

follow Abraham's story, you come to

chapter 22 where God tells Abraham to

take the son of promise, which is Isaac.

And I want you to go offer him as a

sacrifice to me. Now, does that make any

sense?

God promises a great nation. He has one

son,

Isaac, that this deliverer is going to

come through, but now he wants him to

kill him.

And God's plan is just sometimes it's we

don't understand what God is doing.

And in Genesis 22, as Abraham lifts his

knife and he's and he's getting ready to

offer his son as a sacrifice, God stops

him.

And then as the story goes, there is a

ram in the bushes right next to the

altar. And God says, "Use that ram as a

as a substitute, as a sacrifice instead

of your son." And that's a word picture

that we see all the way in Jesus's

story. He is our substitute, our lamb

who was sacrificed for us.

And after uh God, Abraham makes that

sacrifice, God makes his oath, which is

repeated here in Hebrews 6. This is what

it says. You can see it. It's quoted

right there in your verse 14. By myself

I have sworn I will surely bless you and

multiply you.

So what God is doing is he's saying I

made a promise and now I'm placing my

own character, my reputation, and my

being as a guarantee to that promise.

And what does the writer say about God's

character? Look at verse 18.

Why does God do this?

He does this in verse 18. That by two

unchangeable things in which is it

impossible for God to lie, we who have

fled to take hold of the hope set before

us may be greatly encouraged. Well, what

are these two unchangeable things? Well,

they are his promise and his oath

that are grounded in his character that

that he is faithful and he is true and

he is unchanging.

You see, the reason that God made the

promise is for the followers of God to

be reassured.

Do you ever need reassurance of

something?

How about in times of suffering?

How about in times where you're

questioning what's going on around you?

And what does God want to reassure us

of? There's two things. The first thing

is found in verse 17. That his

unchanging nature of his promises.

He wants his followers to understand

that God's purposes do not change.

It's a reminder and reassurance that God

is in control.

And the second thing is in verse 18 that

God cannot lie.

So that God's purposes don't change and

he cannot lie. Now why does God remind

his followers of those two unchangeable

truths? And I think the reality is

because there are times it feels like

God isn't in control.

Did you ever think about that?

that there are times that we experience

in our life where we think his purposes

are constantly changing.

You ever experience those God, where are

you moments?

And if we're honest this morning, there

are times when we think that God lied

about stuff.

Well, God, you said this. I don't feel

it. God, I'm trying to hold on to these

promises, but it looks like you're

silent or absent. and and we wrestle

because we feel at times God's not in

control and that he lies.

And we wonder if he will keep his

promises when we're discouraged,

betrayed, or confused.

We begin to question, "Am I truly

forgiven?

Does God really love and care about me?

Does God really not leave me or forsake

me? Is Is God really good?

Is he really in control? Does good

really win in the end?

And what the writer of Hebrews does is

he directs our hearts to the character

of God.

And we are to be reassured that of of

who God is. And if God is unchanging,

faithful and true, when he makes a

promise, it will stand.

This is what we need to remember this

morning.

In the suffering and the waiting, when

doubt whispers,

God's oath shouts louder.

In the suffering and the waiting, when

doubt whispers, God's oath shouts

louder. And the writer wants us to

understand we can trust him.

And the illustration of Abraham in

Hebrews chapter 6 points us to the

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

reality that God is unchanging,

faithful, and true.

And the reason we can trust him is

because Jesus is the fulfillment of the

promise. What he promised in Genesis 12

is now fulfilled in Jesus. Notice our

third point this morning, that God's

plan is secured by his son.

And he highlights that in verses 19- 20.

We have this hope as an anchor for the

soul.

Firm and secure. It enters the inner

sanctuary behind the curtain where our

forerunner Jesus has entered on our

behalf. He has become a high priest

forever in the order of MelkiseDC. Well,

what in the world is all this language?

Well, the writer is using temple

language and imagery to point us to who

our anchor truly is. It's Jesus.

Notice the picture in verse 19. We have

a hope and this hope is what? An anchor

for our soul.

Now, what is the point of an anchor?

An anchor is there to stabilize. It's

there to support. It's there to keep it

a boat secure.

That's the purpose of the anchor. Now,

uh I like fishing.

Uh, the part of fishing I don't like is

touching the fish, right? I could fish

all day. Cast and reel it in. That's all

fun, but I need to be with somebody

because if I pull something in, I'm

like, you deal with it. All right. And

then I'll just cast again, right? I can

remember being on a fishing boat. We

were fishing for bass. I don't know a

lot about fishing, but apparently you

have to be close to the side when you're

fishing for bass. And the boat is just

kind of hanging out there. And we're

fishing. And after an hour,

all right, you're totally so zoned in on

fishing, you're not paying attention,

and you look up and you're like halfway

across the lake.

Well, what happened? Well, the boat

wasn't anchored. It wasn't secure. And

what happened over time was this slow

drifting so that you're nowhere near

where you started.

And how often does it happen in our

lives where we are anchored in so many

other things that are constantly

changing that by the time you become

aware of what your anchors in, you have

drifted so far away

from Jesus.

And notice what the writer of Hebrews

says. He says, "We have this hope and

this hope is in an object and the object

of our hope is Jesus." Notice how this

hope is is described. It's firm and

secure. And that means it will not fail

and it does not move.

We anchor ourselves to so many things.

And because we try to anchor ourselves

in earthly things, those things are

shakable.

Those things are uncertain. That's why

we constantly feel uneasy or fearful

or uncertain.

I mean, think of the political

polarization right now. If you're

anchoring your soul to a person or a

party and you're trying to to live with

that or if my person gets in or and then

all of a sudden you're all all over the

place where you're anchoring yourselves

in something that's broken,

an anchor that's not secure.

The same thing could be said of of of

your job or your identity or your

achievements.

We anchor ourselves to things that are

changing.

And when something happens that's that

that upsets the apple cart, so to speak.

We become shakable. And the writer of

Hebrews says, "Look, I know you're

suffering. I know you're persecuted, but

be grounded in this reality that our

hope is in Jesus and he's unmovable. You

can't move him. He's secure.

You see, the security of our faith does

not rest in our grip on God, but his

grip on us.

The security of our faith does not rest

in our grip on God. It's not about how

tightly you're holding on. It's resting

in this reality that

he has you.

He has you.

And as we come to verses 18 through 20,

you'll see a slide up on the screen. We

don't have time to get into all the

details, but at some point I it's

helpful just to follow the trajectory of

the text, the movement of the text,

knowing this is temple language. We're

going to run through this. And I just

want you to see how the writer builds on

these word pictures.

And he starts here with this reality

that we have this refuge.

This is reference going back to Numbers

Numbers 35 · chapter mention

chapter 35 in the Old Testament. If

somebody were to die by accident at your

dispense or or because of you, you could

run to what was called a city of refuge.

And if you could make it to the city,

then you found safety and security and

salvation.

Well, that word picture is not talking

about a city of refuge. It's talking

about a person of refuge.

And he's saying you as a as a human

being that is sinful

needs to become aware of your sin and

your brokenness. And when you become

aware of your sin and brokenness, you

become aware that there is judgment or

consequences because of your sin. Now,

where do you turn? Where do you run?

There's no city of refuge.

There's no place where we can save

ourselves. But what the writer of

Hebrews points us to is that we have a

refuge. And the place we run to is

Jesus.

And Jesus becomes this this place of

salvation and rest.

And notice how he builds through the

text. When we run to Jesus, we cling to

what Jesus guarantees. And that's our

hope.

That when you put your faith and trust

in Jesus, you are secure because of his

life is now your life. And what does his

life bring? Forgiveness, love, presence,

joy, a new identity.

And that hope in Jesus becomes this

anchor.

And this anchor is not grounded in

things that are earthly like your

circumstances or your performance or

your success. Your anchor actually

reaches to the heavens, not on the

earth.

And what is our anchor in? It's actually

in the presence of God. Notice the

wording in the in the text. He uses this

phrase behind the curtain. Well, what is

that? That's temple tabernacle language

talking about the place of the holy of

holies. That's where God's presence was.

And not anyone could just enter into

God's presence. It was reserved for the

high priest only. One day a year would

offer a sacrifice on behalf of the sins

of the people. And he would come into

God's presence behind the curtain.

And he says we can be secure and we can

be grounded in our hope because Jesus

has anchored it into the presence of

God.

Now how is Jesus able to enter the

presence of God?

Well the analogies continue because the

text tells us that he is our forerunner.

Now what is a forerunner? Another word

that the author of Hebrews uses later in

the text is a pioneer.

He is the pioneer or perfector of our

faith. Well, what's a pioneer? It's

somebody who goes before, who prepares

the way so that others could follow.

Now, what is the way that Jesus has

prepared? Well, through his perfect

life, his death, and his resurrection,

all who believe in him now can follow

after him into the presence of God.

This is why Jesus can say, "I am the

way, the truth, and the life. No man

comes to the father but by me because he

pioneered. If Jesus doesn't make it,

nobody makes it.

But where is Jesus right now? He's

sitting at the right hand of the father

in the presence of God.

And notice where the analogy ends. On

what basis does this pioneer or

forerunner enter? Because he is our high

priest. Charles talked about this a few

weeks ago. The high priest is an

advocate. What is an advocate doing?

He's representing us before God. He's

deals with our sin and he secures us

access to God.

So what the writer of Hebrews is

pointing us to is this reality that

there is nothing and no one better than

Jesus.

He is our savior. He is the fulfillment

of the promise that God made to Genesis

12. So God can be trusted. He's true to

his word because we see it fulfilled in

Jesus. And anyone who believes in Jesus

is anchored. And what are they anchored

in?

They're anchored in something that is

secure and immovable.

They're anchored in Jesus.

And so the question I want to ask you as

we close this morning is this. What are

you anchoring your soul to right now?

Maybe you're here this morning and your

anchor is in your achievements. Well,

what happens when nobody values those

achievements? Or maybe it's your

possessions. Well, what happens when

those things are gone? Or maybe it's in

relationships. Well, what happens when

relationships are broken because of sin?

What are you anchoring your soul to?

The second thing I want us to think

about this morning is where are you

functionally accusing God of lying?

Where in your heart and life do you feel

like God is lying to you?

And we need to take moments this week to

think and to pray uh of how to deal with

that with God because the writer of

Hebrews is saying God can be trusted

because of his character.

and he's been faithful and unchanging

and true throughout the whole entire

story that we focus on and read in the

scriptures

and we see it fulfilled in Jesus.

So some of us walked in today weary,

drifting, barely holding on and the

writer of Hebrews does not shame us for

that. What he does is he points you to

an anchor that is secure.

And if you feel like your life is all

over the place and and your faith is

like shifting sand that's changed by

every wave that comes, he's inviting you

to come to this reality that God is

trustworthy.

Because at times the storms of life will

come and your boat will get rocked.

But God in his great love says, "I'm

giving you an anchor,

someone that you can fully trust in for

eternal life." abundant life, strength,

comfort, encouragement, and hope. And

that is where our anchor is. It's in

Jesus. Let's pray this morning. Father,

thank you for these truths.

Lord, many of us need this encouragement

in the midst of suffering or pain

to be reminded of this reality that you

are unchanging

true

and that when you make promises, we know

that they will be fulfilled

and that is seen through your son Jesus

who is the fulfillment of the promise.

So let us run to you to find salvation.

Let us run to you so that we can be

secure.

So father, thank you for your love and

these reminders in Jesus name. Amen.