The Anchor Holds

Opportunity and I never take it lightly to open up the Word of God.

And so I want to say thank you for allowing me to do this tonight.

If you would open your Bibles with me, please, to the book of Hebrews, chapter 6.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

The book of Hebrews, chapter 6, and we'll begin reading in verse number 13.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number 13.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

I hope and I pray that I can be a blessing to you tonight.

I want to be an encouragement.

Really, it's not what I have to say, it's what the Word of God has to say for us.

And it's the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.

Can I tell you this?

I was encouraged this morning by the service.

The singing and the preaching.

I fully believe God met with us.

And I'm so thankful for that.

Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number 13.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

If you're there, would you say amen?

The Bible says, For when God made promise to Abraham, because he cannot swear by no greater, he swear by himself, saying, Surely, blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

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 show under 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, aren't you thankful?

Our God cannot lie.

We might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge, lay hold upon the hope set before us.

Look at verse number 19.

Which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast, which and which entereth into the uh into that without within the veil.

Whither the forerunner is for us, entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

You would notice that phrase again in verse number 19 where the Bible says, which hope we have as an anchor for the soul.

I want to preach to you tonight on this thought.

The anchor holds.

The anchor holds.

Can we pray together?

Father, we thank you for your word.

Lord, we thank you for this church.

Thank you for the opportunity we have to come to this place to worship you, to hear from you.

Thank you for the wonderful service you gave us today.

Thank you for meeting with us.

Lord, I pray now for the preaching of your word.

Father, would you help me?

I need you tonight.

Hide me behind the cross, but Lord, may I lift up your name on high.

And Lord, may you speak to the hearts of your people.

Help us, Lord Jesus, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

There are a few things more unsettling than feeling like you are drifting.

It is one thing to move forward on purpose, but it's another thing to be carried along by something you cannot control.

A person can be busy and still be drifting.

They can be active and still be unstainable.

They can be surrounded by people and still feel unsettled in their soul.

And if we're honest, many people know what it feels like to drift.

You can drift emotionally, you can drift spiritually, you can drift mentally, you can drift in your confidence, you can drift in your closeness to God.

And sometimes it's not that you are trying to walk away from the Lord, it's just that life has a way of pulling on you.

Responsibilities pull, pressures pull, disappointments pull, temptation pulls, fear pulls, weariness pulls, and little by little the soul begins to feel unsteady.

And that's what Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number 19 is such a powerful verse, as the writer says, which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

Notice what God gives us.

It's not merely, he doesn't merely give us encouragement for the mind, he doesn't merely give us strength for the body, he doesn't merely give us help for the day, he gives us an anchor for the soul.

Because the soul is where the deepest battles are fought.

The soul is where fear whispers.

The soul is where doubt wrestles.

The soul is where doubt, excuse me, grief settles, the soul is where discouragement weighs heavy, the soul is where faith is tested, and God knew that we would need something stronger than a good mood, better circumstances or temporary relief.

We would need something sure, something steadfast, something that doesn't shift when everything around us does.

Listen, our anchor is not in positive thinking.

Our anchor is not in personal strength.

Our anchor is not in human support.

Our anchor is not in the hope that things will get better.

Our anchor is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what makes this anchor so precious is that we are not always strong, but he is always faithful.

Not that we ever tremble, but that he never moves.

Not that we always understand, but that he always knows.

Not that we always hold him perfectly, but that he holds us securely.

Every soul needs something that can hold when emotions cannot.

Every believer needs something that can steady them when life is uncertain.

Every Christian needs to be reminded, listen, that our hope is not floating aimlessly in this world.

It is fastened in Christ.

And if our hope is anchored in him, then whatever comes, whatever pulls, whatever shakes and whatever tests our faith, the anchor holds.

I want to share with you several thoughts here tonight out of this passage of scripture.

Number one, I want you to see the storms that shake us.

Life has storms, doesn't it?

Nobody gets a lifetime of sunshine and happiness.

Eventually, every person sits beneath dark clouds and they never expected to see.

And what happens is that sometimes storms arrive suddenly, don't they?

A phone call in the middle of the night, a diagnosis from the doctor, a spouse walking away, a child breaking your heart, a job disappearing, a funeral you never imagined attending this soon.

In other storms, they seem to come slower and quieter.

Maybe mental exhaustion, pressure that keeps building, loneliness nobody knows about, silent discouragement, questions you cannot answer.

And sometimes the storm is around you, but sometimes the storm's also inside of you.

And sometimes the storms inside of us are some of the hardest ones because people can see the rain on the outside, but they can all they can't always see what's happening on the inside.

Listen, every seasoned believer at a time feels shaken.

I think of the disciples in Mark chapter 4.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

They were they were uh veteran fishermen.

These men had been out on the sea, these men knew the waters, these men knew how to fish, that was their profession.

But what happened?

That storm came and Jesus was asleep on the boat, and during that time they thought they were gonna lose their life, even though the Lord Jesus Christ was right there.

But even though those veteran fishermen, even their soul got shaken, even they faced a physical storm that night and they thought they were gonna lose their lives.

Storms have a way of making even mature people feel vulnerable.

You know scripture, but you still feel shaken.

You can have faith and still have fears, you can love God and still feel overwhelmed, you can be in the will of God and still find yourself in a storm, and storms expose what we are anchored to.

A man can say God is enough until the finances collapse.

A woman can say she trusts God until her children start hurting.

A Christian can sing about peace until anxiety enters the room at 2 a.m.

Storms reveal foundations.

I think of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus told the parable about a wise man that built his house upon the good foundation, another man built his house upon the sand.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

The men built the same house, one built upon sand, but one built it upon a firm foundation.

What happens?

The same storm came, the same winds blew, the same rain beat upon those houses, but one fell and one did not fall.

Why?

Because the one that did not fall was built on a firm foundation.

The storm did not create the foundation, the storm revealed the foundation.

And a lot of people today are anchored to fragile things, just like that man built his house upon the sand.

A lot of people are anchored in fragile things.

Some are anchored to success.

As long as they're winning, they are stable and but success is a shaky anchor.

Some are anchored to relationships, but people are human and they can disappoint, they can change, they can leave or fail to understand.

Some are anchored to routines, but one disruption can throw off their whole entire schedule and put them into chaos.

Some are anchored to politics and the economy and to culture, but everything in the world shifts.

That's why Hebrews says we need an anchor for the soul, not just an anchor for circumstances, not just an anchor for emotions, not just an anchor for our plans.

We need an anchor for our soul because the soul is where the deepest storms are felt.

There are ships that survive hurricanes, not because the storm was weak, but because the anchor was strong.

The anchor is usually unseen beneath the surface, but what is unseen is often what keeps everything from destruction.

Likewise, many people in church, they they look calm on the outside because privately they have learned how to anchor themselves in Christ.

They're not calm because life's easy.

They're not calm because they have no problems.

They're not faithful because they never get tired.

They are still standing because something unseen is holding them.

The word of God is holding them, prayer is holding them, grace is holding them, Christ is holding them, and sometimes you don't realize what you're anchored to until the storm tries to move you.

Listen, the storm may shake your emotions, the storm may shake your plans, the storm may shake your comfort, but listen to me tonight.

It cannot shake Christ.

And if your soul is anchored in Him, then even when the storm moves, the ship will not move the anchor.

Why?

Because the anchor holds.

The storms that shake us.

Maybe tonight you're going through a storm.

Maybe tonight you're in the valley.

Maybe tonight you're dealing with something that nobody else knows.

Hold on to the anchor because the anchor holds.

Number two, as we continue to talk about the soul, I want you to notice number two, the soul that needs stability.

Look at the first part of verse number 19.

He says, which hope we have as an anchor of the what's that next word?

Soul.

The soul needs stability because the soul naturally drifts.

Nobody drifts into holiness accidentally.

Nobody drifts toward prayer accidentally.

Nobody drifts towards revival accidentally.

Nobody drifts closer to God by accident.

Drifting is subtle.

What happens?

We miss church once and then twice.

Prayer becomes shorter.

Your Bible stays closed longer.

Conviction becomes quieter.

Worship becomes mechanical.

Your heart gets colder little by little.

And the danger of drifting is that it rarely feels dangerous in that moment.

Most people don't suddenly wake up and decide they're just gonna stray away from God, do they?

It usually happens slowly.

One small compromise, one neglected prayer time, one excuse that feels reasonable, one spiritual habit pushed aside, and after long, a person can look back and realize they're not where they used to be.

They still know the language and they still know the songs, and they still know how to kind of look the part, but inwardly something has drifted.

A ship drifting at sea may not notice movement immediately, but hour after hour, what happens?

Current after current, it ends up miles away from where it started.

Can I tell you that that actually happens spiritually as well?

A person who was once burdened for God can slowly become distant without ever making a massive decision.

Little compromises create large distances of time.

That's why we need an anchor.

An anchor does not remove the storm, but it resists the drift.

An anchor does not stop the pressure, but it keeps the pressure from carrying you away.

The anchor does not mean you will never feel the pull of the current.

It means the current does not get to decide where you end up.

And listen, some of you tonight, you know exactly what that feels like.

You've had days where where you did not know how you would keep going.

Uh there were days where your prayer felt weak.

There were days where your fears were heavier than your words.

There were days where you smiled publicly while hurting privately.

There were days where you came to church and not because you felt strong, but because you knew you needed help, and yet somehow you're still still standing.

Listen, that's not human toughness, that's the grace of God.

That was not your discipline, that was not your power, that was the anchor holding on to you when you could barely hold on to yourself.

There are people who look back over the years of their life and they can honestly say, I should have quit, I should have given up, I should have walked away from God, but they did not.

Not because they were they were strong every day, and I'm sure they were, but because Jesus was faithful every day.

There are days where he held on to you and you held on to him.

There were days where your faith felt strong, and there were days where your faith felt small.

There were days where you prayed with confidence, and there were days where you could say all you could say was, Lord, help me.

But even when your grip was weak, his was not.

Sometimes God's greatest evidence in your life is that you are still here.

Still praying, still believing, still worshiping, still serving, still listening to the word of God, still showing up, still holding on.

Listen, the enemy thought he could take you out, discouragement thought it could pull you under, the pressure thought it could carry you away, but the anchor held.

And if the anchor can hold you then, then the anchor can hold you now.

Why?

Because the anchor holds.

Number three, I want you to see the security of our hope.

Look at the second part of verse number 19.

He says, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.

Can I tell you tonight that biblical hope is not optimism?

Optimism says maybe things will get better.

Biblical hope says no matter what happens, God is still faithful.

There's a big difference.

Watch this.

The world's hope is usually tied to circumstances.

The world says, Well, I hope things improve.

I hope the money comes through.

I hope the report is good.

I hope everything works out.

I hope life gets easier.

But Bible hope is deeper than that.

Bible hope says, even if I don't understand, God is faithful.

Even if the answer has not come yet, God is faithful.

Even if the storm's raging, God is faithful.

Even if life doesn't go the way I planned, God is faithful.

And that changes everything because if my hope depends on circumstances, I will always live unstable.

Listen, circumstances change hourly, don't they?

One day good news can come, and the next day bad news can come.

And one moment your heart feels encouraged, and the next moment your heart, uh your heart is filled with fear, and our hope is not rooted in changing circumstances.

Listen, tonight, our hope is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not in the stock market, it's not in the government, it's not in the White House, praise God, it's not in human promises, it's not in what people say, it's not in what looks the right way, it's in Christ, and Christ never changes.

What does the Bible say?

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Think of a child riding through a storm.

He may be frightened by the lightning and the thunder and the rain and everything that's surrounding him.

They don't understand the roads, they may not know where they are, they may not be able to see clearly through the windshield, but they can calm down because they trust the drive.

Listen, the peace is not in understanding the storm.

The peace is in knowing who is in control.

That's the believer's confidence tonight.

Listen, we don't always understand the storm.

We don't always understand why it happened.

We don't always understand why it lasted so long.

We don't always understand why God allowed it.

We don't always understand why the answer has not come yet, but we know the captain.

And if Jesus is in the ship, then the storm does not get the final word.

Listen to me tonight.

Our hope is secure because Jesus cannot fail.

The word cannot lie.

His blood cannot lose power.

His resurrection cannot be reversed.

His promises cannot collapse.

His grace cannot run dry.

His presence cannot be removed.

His faithfulness cannot be exalted, exhausted.

That is why believers can walk through cancer and still worship.

That's why they can stand beside a casket and still sing.

That's why they can lose their job and still testify.

That's why they can face uncertainty and still have peace.

They can carry burdens and still say God is good.

They can walk through valleys and say God is faithful and they can still trust the shepherds, not be crushed.

Christians ignore pain because we feel pain and we grieve lost and we cry real tears and we carry heavy burdens and we ask hard questions, but Christians possess hope deeper than pain.

Listen, there's something underneath us that the storm cannot touch.

There is confidence in Christ, and that goes deeper than what we see, deeper than what we feel, and deeper than what we understand.

I don't even know the story of Horatio Spafford.

He knew what it was like to have the bottom of life fall out.

He already suffered financial loss in the Great Chicago fire.

He already had walked through disappointment and grief, but then came the telegram that no husband, no father, no man should ever have to read.

His wife Anna had been crossing the Atlantic with her four daughters, and the ship that they were on were was struck and sick.

Over 200 people died, and among them were Stafford's four little girls.

Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanata.

His wife survived and sent him a message that began with those devastating words.

Can you imagine him reading that?

Four daughters gone.

Four voices silent.

Four beds empty, four little girls he would never hold on to again on the side of the sea on the side of eternity.

Stafford boarded a ship to go meet his grieving wife.

Somewhere on the Atlantic, the captain called him and told him that they were passing near the place where the ship had gone down.

Somewhere beneath those dark waters was the place where his daughters had taken their last breath.

I think I wonder if he stood over that rail and looked over the waves.

The same ocean that carried his family away now stretched endlessly before him.

No grave to visit, no marker to see, just water, just waves, just the awful silence of loss.

And yet it was there.

Not in a church building, not on a mountaintop, not in a season of ease, but over the very waters of the deepest sorrow that Horatio Stafford rode his room.

When peace like a river attendeth my way.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, it is well.

It is well with my soul.

That doesn't mean that he did not have hurt.

That doesn't mean he did not weep.

That doesn't mean grief suddenly became easy.

It means that everything beneath him had given way.

He had found there was still something above him that held him.

His daughters were beneath the waves, but his hope was not.

His world had been shaken, but his anchor has not moved.

The anchor of the believer, listen, is not buried in the ocean floor.

It's fastened to the presence of God.

Spafford held on to the anchor, but more importantly, that anchor held on to him.

And this church, that is why we can say, even when the storm is still raging, even when tears are still falling, even when we're in the mountain, even where we're facing things that don't make any sense, even when questions are still unanswered, the storm may move the ship, but it cannot move the anchor.

Listen, that is the security of our hope.

The storm may be uncertain, but Jesus is sure.

The future may be uncertain, but Jesus is sure.

The answer may seem uncertain, but Jesus is sure.

And when your hope is anchored in him, you may be shaken, but you will not be swept away.

Why?

Because the anchor holds.

The savior behind the veil.

Look at the last part of our summer 19.

And which entereth into that within the veil.

Even Jesus.

You know what this does?

Watch this.

I saw this.

I loved it.

You know what this is pointing us back to?

It's pointing us back to the Holy of Holies.

That's the place where the that's the place that represented the very presence of God.

In the Old Testament, not everyone.

Everybody could get behind the veil.

The high priest would enter, and even then, uh, then only according to God's appointed way.

It was a sacred place.

It was a holy place.

It was a place that reminded man that God was not to be approached casually.

But Hebrews tells us something powerful.

Our anchor is not fastened on something here on earth.

Our anchor is fastened in heaven itself.

Think about that.

Most anchors go downward, but our anchor goes upward.

Earthly anchors reach the ocean floor, but the believer's anchor reaches the throne of God.

That means our confidence is tied to another world.

Our hope is not anchored in what we can see, it is anchored in what God has already settled.

Our peace is not secured by earthly conditions, it is secured by a heavenly Christ.

That means the storms down here they can't be undone.

What Jesus has already secured in heaven.

That's why the Bible says in verse number 20, whether the forerunner is forest, enter even Jesus.

Listen to me to me, ladies and gentlemen.

Jesus went before us.

He entered the very presence of God as our representative, as our high priest, as our advocate, as the one who stands on our behalf.

That means our security is not based on our ability to hold on to Him perfectly.

It is based on His ability to hold on to us perfectly.

And that's good news because there are days when our grip feels weak.

There are days when our emotions are unsteady.

There are days when our prayers feel broken.

There are days when our faith feels small.

There are days when we don't feel as strong as we sound at church, but our hope is not tightly, and our hope is not how tightly we can hold him.

Our hope is in the fact that he holds us.

A frightened child crossing a dangerous place may loosen their grip on their father's hand.

But the father doesn't loosen the grip on the child's hand.

The child may stumble, the child may tremble, that child may not understand the danger around them.

Oh, but the father knows.

The father sees, and the father holds.

Illustrations like this become so dear to my heart.

Because I think of my little boy.

I have a father in heaven who holds on to me.

He'll never leave me nor forsake me.

Listen, there are moments spiritually when we honestly we feel like that child.

Our emotions tremble, our faith feels weak, our prayer feels difficult, the storms feel loud, but thank God our salvation is not held by our emotional consistency.

It is held together by a living Savior who intercedes for us continually.

Can I tell you tonight?

Jesus is still on the throne.

He's still praying for his people, he's still interceding for his own.

Listen, the storm may rage below, but Christ remains seated above.

The waves may be moving around you here on earth, but nothing is shaking in heaven.

And then if our anchor is fastened where Jesus is, then no storm down here can undo what he has secured up there.

And because he lives, our hope lives.

Because he stands, we are not forsaken.

Because he has entered before us, we have access.

And because he is faithful, the anchor holds.

Can I tell you tonight?

Listen, church, get your eyes off the world, get your eyes off of things around you, and look onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

The anchor holds.

Maybe tonight.

You're being battered by waves that nobody else sees.

You're tired.

You're discouraged.

You're trying to smile while fighting inward battles.

But hear the word of God one more time.

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul.

Both sure and steadfast.

Listen, the storm may shake you, but it cannot separate you from Christ.

The winds may howl, but they cannot uproot the promises of God.

The waves may rise, but they cannot move the anchor.

So tonight, listen.

Don't quit.

Don't drift.

Don't abandon prayer.

Don't walk away from scripture.

Don't let pain convince you that God has failed.

Listen, you may bend in the storm, but by the grace of God you will not break.

Why?

Because the anchor holds.

There's a song that I've had the privilege of singing here several times.

The chorus goes, the anchor holds.

Though the ship is battered.

The anchor holds, or the sails are torn.

I have fallen on my knees when I face the raging seas.

The anchor holds.

In spite of the storm.

Church.

Whatever you're facing, the anchor holds.

Can we pray together?

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for this reminder.

Thank you to know, Lord, that you are sure and steadfast.

When we face storms, when we go through trials, when we're in the valley.

You're there with us every step of the way.

Because the anchor holds.

Thank you, Lord.

You are a great God and a wonderful Savior.

In Jesus' name.

Every head bowed, every eye.