Hebrews 6: A Hope & Anchor that does not fail! 11/16/14 A Hope & Anchor that Does not Fail I. Jesus is the only Anchor that does not fail. 1. Struggle to trust even God. Thus, I tend to look to other things for hope. 2. But God wants us to boast in hope, to be bold, to be joyful, and to be restful in hope in Him. 3. God has given us an oath: By the blood of Christ and by two facts: God s nature is unchanging and He cannot lie. 4. Does your soul have an anchor? What are you hoping in? 5. God has given us an anchor not a helicopter. 6. When all else fails Jesus will remain 7. Have you made Jesus your anchor today? 8. I was thinking the other day if not Jesus for may anchor then who or what? What is there really anyways? Jesus is the only anchor for our soul. As Peter said Where would we go? Application: 1. Be patient & Diligent: Romans 8:24-25 & Hebrews 6:10-12 a) So that our hope may be fully realized b) The Jewish Christians had placed their hope in Christ but were then considering placing their hope in religion because it was easier and brought less persecution. be diligent and not lazy. c) Take Hold of the Hope which is offered! 2. Be Faithful Hope is directly linked to faith (Hebrews 11:1) a) We have Jesus as our hope (Anchor). The purpose of the Anchor you cannot see an anchor. Faith. Hebrews 11:1 b) Romans 12:12 (Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer) 1
Manuscript Hebrews 6 A Hope & Anchor that does not fail! When I was younger I discovered that it was easier for me, not healthier, but easier to think the worst of people rather than the best of people. I didn t like this about myself, but it was true. Since my youth I have grown in this area, but I still must be on guard against this negative perspective. This is not always an intentional perspective but more of a subconscious logic, a personal safety guard. The idea is that if I think the worst of you then when you inevitably do the worst to me, I will not be as hurt or unprepared because I was expecting it. Of course, this is to varying degrees. For example, I have learned to trust more those who are close to me. But even the most intimate relationship I still struggle with totally trusting the person. I fear that when times are at the worst that person will not always put my interest first and thus I should at least be prepared just in case. And it is no secret that this fear stems from past wounds and hurts. Meaning that I have been let down and hurt in the past so I am scared to trust and hope in the present. I am scared to have hope in another person because I have been hurt and let down too many times. I have learned the hard way that I need to take care of myself and not depend upon anyone. Truthfully, I can be scared to hope for too much because if things are too good I then get anxious and I start waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Can anyone here relate? But this is living in fear and not in hope. Well, there is a lot of unhealthy problems with that perspective, such as it creates a lack of intimacy and trust, but perhaps the worst is that perspective caries over into our relationship with God our one and only true hope. It is this fear that carries into our relationship with God that diminishes our ability to trust in God and thus diminishes our hope in God. Sadly, I admit that there are times when I am expecting the worst from God and not His best. This is not because God has ever given me His worst, it is simply because I feel insecure and scared. I end up transferring that lack of trust over to God. But this is the opposite of what God wants for us. God realizes that we have all been wounded but the good news is that His love is perfect, without out flaw or failure. His love endures no matter what and is based on His perfection not our own. It is by His grace and not by our works, and He is faithful even when we are not. This is the hope we are called to boast in (Romans 5:2); the hope we are called to be joyful in (Romans 12:12); the hope we are called to be bold in (2 Corinthians 3:12); and the hope we are called to rest in (Acts 2:26). This is a hope that does not fail. Think about this do you boast in your hope in God? Are you so confident in God s promises and faithfulness that you are you joyful, restful, and bold in hope? Or do you think that God will let you down like others? If you are not sure ask yourself: are all of your metaphorical eggs (all of your hope) in God s basket or do you have them spread out just in case God lets you down? If you re uncertain and believe that God may let you down then you are not alone. In fact, the entire book of Hebrews is written to Christians who were seriously considering abandoning Christ because of fear that God had and will let them down. You see the book of Hebrews was written to Jews who converted to Christianity. But then the Roman Emperor Nero in the 1 st century began to heavily persecute Christians. He started propaganda campaigns to discredit and persecute Christians. He confiscated their property, had them imprisoned, beaten, and even killed for following Christ. As a result the Jewish Christians believed God had let them down and that it would be easier to 2
simply return to Judaism. In response to this, the author of Hebrews writes to the Jewish believers letting them know that nothing is better than Christ. He is supreme over all, He is the Lord of the Lords, the exact representation of God Himself, for He is God and this truth can be a hope, an anchor for your soul that will never fail. Today I want to read a passage from Hebrews 6:13-20. Here we see that the author of Hebrews reminds the Jewish Christians that God is superior, there is no one greater than Him, so God swore by Himself. Normally, people swear by someone greater than themselves, but there is no one greater than God so He swears by Himself. God then reminds us that He wanted to make sure that His promise was trusted and clear, so He confirmed His promise by an oath. Think about this what is that oath? And how did God confirm it? That oath is Christ Himself and all that He promised, and that oath is confirmed by Christ s death and resurrection. The oath is that Christ has come to give us true life and life abundantly (John 10:10), the oath is that anyone who believes in Christ shall not perish but have eternal life but those who do not follow Christ stand already condemned because of their sin. The oath is that God promises to never leave us or forsake us. These are the promises of God. And then in Hebrews 6:17-18 we read that God did this so that we who have fled to take hold of this hope may be greatly encouraged. And we read that we can be encouraged because of two things: God s nature of His purpose is unchanging and God does not lie. Think about that. God s purpose does not change and He wanted this to be very clear. So often we hear about God s promises, but then when things are going bad we start to believe that God s purpose has changed, that His promise has failed or changed. When God s promises never change and never fail. God has always promised salvation through His Son and this is not going to change. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no one gets to the Father except through Christ (John 14:6). This is the purpose of God and it is very clear and unchanging. And secondly we can be encouraged because God does not lie or change His mind. We read in 1 Samuel 15:29, He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind. It is these two truths that God reminds us that those who have fled to take hold of this hope may be greatly encouraged. I love the word fled. Have you fled abandoned all other hopes to take hold of the hope of Christ? Meaning have you put your hope in Christ before all others? The Apostle Paul is a powerful example of one who has fled all things to take hold of the hope of Christ. We read in Philippians 3 that Paul gave up all his worldly security and confidences. For example, Paul had a promising career, he had wealth and a prominent family name. He was educated and was a sure in for great things in the world s eyes. Yet, Paul fled from all of those worldly hopes to take hold of the hope that is in Christ, so much so that he had and considered his old hopes and accomplishments garbage compared to the hope in Christ, that anchor and hope that would not fail. And when persecution and the storms of life came, Paul said that he has learned to be content in all circumstances, whether rich or poor, well feed or hungry because his hope was in Christ. It is interesting that Paul learned to be content by placing his hope in Christ. For you often find out if you are anchored, and what you are anchored to, when troubles come. For Paul, no matter what trials he faced his anchor was Christ and that brought a peace that surpasses all understanding. In fact when Paul was in prison facing his death and Timothy, who was Paul s disciple, was freaking out, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:11, 3
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. Paul s hope was anchored with Christ. This is a hope that will not fail! This is an anchor for the soul that will not fail. Jesus is greater than anything for He does not change His purpose and He does not lie. And He has promised with an oath: His blood and very life, that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He has the perfect plan and that even death itself has been defeated. This is the promise that God wants us to rest in, to be bold in, to flee to take hope in. Are you sure that no matter what happens your hope is secure? Most people place their hopes and future in their job, or in their families, or in their money. The problem is that all of those are insecure and can fail. We can lose our jobs, our family, and even our money. And if your hope is in your job, money or family and you lose that, your whole world will come crashing down and you will be tossed back and forth with no sense of security. In Hebrews 6:19 we read that our hope in Christ is an anchor for our soul firm and secure. I love this analogy of an anchor that is firm and secure. An anchor keeps us from drifting and crashing, it keeps us firm and secure. When boats are in a calm harbor they all look the same. But when a storm comes the boats that have an anchor are secure while the other boats are tossed to and fro. Is your hope firm and secure? Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27 that anyone who puts their hope in Him and follows His word is like someone who is building a house on rock, but anyone who does not is building their house on sand. When the storm comes the house on sand will not stand. If our hope is in anything other than Christ when the storm comes we will not be able to stand. For no person, and no job, and all the money in the world cannot save you. Only Christ is a sure anchor that will ground us and save us, not only in this life but for eternal life. All the promises of the world will let you down, but God has made an oath to you that His purpose does not change and He does not lie, therefore you can have hope that does not fail. It is this hope in the promises of God that are meant to be an anchor for our soul. Where have you anchored your hope? What have you put your hope in? Are you confident that no matter what happens your hope is secure? Have you fled to take hope in a hope that does not fail? Or are you still anchoring yourself to things or people that will not anchor you at all? Jesus wants us to rest in His cross, His finished work, but we can t keep drifting back to works, or the things of this world, which creates a sense of insecurity in us. We need to take our eyes off of ourselves, and the false promises of this world, and let us boast about our future in Christ, the hope and anchor that will not fail. It is important to know that God says that our hope in Him is an anchor for our soul. I say this because often we don t want an anchor but we want a helicopter. Think about this. When the storms of life come we want to be snatched up and taken out of the storm, like a helicopter rescue. This is what people like to sign up for: Heavenly Helicopter Jesus. So when we get in trouble we can simply say beam me up. Get me out of this marriage, get me out of this bad job, get me out of this debt, get me out of this health issue, get me out of this problem. But that is not what Christ promises. He says that He is our anchor. He promises to be with us in the midst of the storms not to take us out of the storms. Just like an anchor does not take you out of the storm but stabilizes you in the midst of the storm. 4
I am reminded of Matthew 14 when Jesus sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. Everything was going fine but then a storm arouse. And during the storm late at night Jesus walked on water to go meet His disciples. Of course, they started to freak out because seeing someone walk on water in the midst of a storm was not an everyday occurrence to say the least. So Jesus then tells the disciples to stop being scared but He doesn t stop the storm. You would think that if Jesus wanted the disciples to stop being afraid He would stop the storm, but He doesn t, at least not right away. Instead Peter calls out to Jesus mustering up enough courage to ask Christ to call him out on the water and Christ does. So Peter steps out of the boat. Again, you would think that once Christ called Peter out of the boat that He would settle the sea and make it calm and glassy. And generally when we read this story we think of nice calm and glassy water, but it was not, rather the sea was in storm mode with waves and wind. In fact it is more accurate to say that Peter walked on waves more than water. So Peter starts to walk towards Jesus on the waves and then Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and focuses on the wind and waves and begins to sink. But Jesus, being faithful as He was catches Peter and does not allow him to sink. But still Jesus does not stop the storm!! So Jesus reaches out and picks Peter up and asks him: Why did you doubt? Really! What do you mean why did I doubt? Don t you see the waves and wind? Don t you see I just lost my job? Don t you see I just got that bad diagnosis for a doctor? Don t you see that I am loosing or have lost my marriage? How can you ask me why I am doubting or am afraid? Isn t it obvious? It is good to know that whenever Jesus asks a question, they are always rhetorical since He already knows the answer. He is not really seeking to get information but to teach a point and make a statement. Why do you doubt? Well, I have so many reasons! But Jesus says, I am here. I am always faithful. I am always going to be enough. Jesus is our hope! He is the anchor that will not fail. Whatever He promises He will always deliver on. Jesus could have stopped the waves when Peter stepped out of the boat, He could have stopped the waves and wind when Peter began to sink, but instead He waited until after they got into the boat then the waves and storm died down. This was not by accident. Jesus wanted His disciples to place their hope in Him in the midst of the storm not because He took them out of the storm. Jesus is our anchor for our soul. The anchor is set, the work is finished, Jesus will take care of you. We must trust and place our hope in Christ the anchor of our soul. But to trust and place our hope we must be diligent in our faith. We read in Hebrews 6:11-12, We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. The Jewish Christians had placed their hope in Christ but were then considering placing their hope in religion because it was easier and brought less persecution. They had yet seen the deliverance of God so they began to want to give up. But author of Hebrews was reminding them to not be lazy and to not quit. In other words: don t take the easy route. We read in Romans 8:24-25, For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. The point is that we must patiently and faithfully wait through the storm and have faith in God that He will work out everything according to His good and perfect plan. Some of you are in the middle of a storm right now and you want to give up. The truth is that it would be easier to go back to placing your hope in 5
money, your career, or even your family. For you can see those and touch those, but that does not mean they are better anchors than Christ. Christ is the only hope and anchor that does not fail. There is nothing better, but it does take faith in the midst of storms because Christ does not promise to take us out of the storm but to be with us. Faith is intricately connected to hope. In Hebrews 11:1 we read that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Wherever you see hope in scripture it is tied to faith. It takes faith to place your hope, your anchor, in Christ. It is easier to place your hope in religion, works, money, or people, all of those things you can tangibly touch and see. But all of those things will fail you. And an interesting truth about the anchor is that it does its best work where it is never seen. An anchor does no good when it is sitting in the boat. It is only functioning when it is in the water unseen. Perhaps today you have taken your eyes off of Jesus. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed and feel like giving up. Don t give up! God understands. Peter who had Jesus in the flesh, who could see Jesus right there also got so scared in the midst of the storm that he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. And we don t even have Jesus with us in the flesh so it is even easier to take our eyes off of Jesus. For it is not like we have Jesus in the flesh helping us pack up our things when we lose our job or sitting with us when we see our bank account dwindling, or get the news from our doctor that it is bad, or when we are fighting with our spouse. But Jesus is here just as much. We have the Holy Spirit within us confirming His presence. We serve the same God who is the same today, yesterday and forever. Deuteronomy 7:9 states, Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. We are all going to place our hope in something. The question is what? Have you made Christ your anchor? Are you able to boldly boast in your hope/anchor in Christ? Are you able to be joyful and rest in the hope of Christ, content in all situations because you know that Jesus is greater and more powerful than any storm that you can face? The fact is that Jesus is the only anchor that does not fail. And let me ask you, if not Christ then who or what? What is there really anyways? Is money going to be your anchor? Is your career going to be your anchor? Is your family going to be your anchor? All of those will come to an end, and some much quicker than you think. It is only Christ that will not fail. As the Apostle Peter said Where would we go? Let us flee to take hold of the hope in Christ, let us bind ourselves to Jesus. I cannot promise you that you will leave here today and that all the wind and waves will stop, but I can promise you that Jesus will be there with you! Today if you have not made Christ your hope or your anchor then now is the time. Now is the time to flee to take hold of the hope in Christ. There is nothing better. Let us pray. 6
Scriptures for Hebrews 6: A Hope/Anchor that does not fail 1 Samuel 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind. 2 Timothy 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. Romans 8:24-25 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 7
Scriptures for 11/16/14 Hebrews 6:13-20 Hebrews 6:17-18 1 Samuel 15:29 2 Timothy 2:11 Hebrews 6:19 Hebrews 6:11-12 Romans 8:24-25 Hebrews 11:1 Deuteronomy 7:9 8