May 2, 2010

Hope: The Anchor Of The Soul

Hebrews 6:13-20 the Christian has an anchor for their lives that is sure and steadfast, no matter
what the storm or the problem. Jesus Christ gave us hope. This hope, as we learned several weeks ago,
is not wishful thinking. When it comes to God, He left nothing for us to doubt about or fret over. He
made our salvation without uncertainty or reservation. We can confidently present our lives as a living
sacrifice in joyous service to Him who loved us.
We read in our text that when God made promise to Abraham, He wanted to be sure Abraham
had no place for doubts to creep in, so He swore by the highest authority ever available: He swore by
Himself. He put Himself under blame if He did not fulfill His promise to Abraham. The fulfillment of
the promise was not up to Abraham: it was up to God to accomplish. All Abraham had to do was
patiently endure. That’s all! Nothing more, nothing less. Can you do that? Sure you can. To “patiently
endure” literally means “to be long spirited.” In other words, he had to keep his mind and heart open to
what the Lord had told him. He kept the spirit of his mind from falling into discouragement. He stayed
focused on what God had said, not the surrounding circumstances. It was many years before he could
even see any glimmer of the answer coming. It looked like nothing was happening for a long, long
time. He may have gotten disheartened had it not been for what God said and how God said it to him.
He was so certain the Lord spoke to him that he willingly laid his whole life on the Word of God. That
is powerful. Can you say you will completely trust what God has spoken to you? Even when it looks
impossible? Abraham did, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Righteousness is simply being
and doing what is right in God’s eyes. It doesn’t matter what people think or see or do or say. To walk
before God in righteousness may look wrong to others, but to God it is His greatest joy. What are
others saying to you about your walk with God? Who cares, as long as you are pleasing God?
Some people think, “All I hope for is to get back what I had.” Maybe what you had is nowhere
near as good as what God wants to give you! Maybe what you had stinks! Maybe what you had never
was good and never can be good, but you are trying to make it what it really isn’t. Maybe it’s a
situation that brings you down, not only your feelings but your whole spirit, soul, and body. When God
closes a door, please don’t try to open it again. Let Him lead you to the door that will minister to you an
entrance into the kingdom of the dear Son of God. Abraham got disheartened because of the length of
time involved with receiving the promise from God. He tried to open the door, because after all, he was
old and so was Sarah his wife. He tried an age-old practice of taking his wife’s maid as a surrogate
mother for his child. But God had something better than that in mind. God’s plan is better than any plan
we have of achieving the purpose of God in our lives and in the church. Sometimes we get close-
minded to God’s plan. Don’t do that!
After he patiently endured, after he kept a good attitude, after he remained upbeat despite the
thoughts and feelings, after he began trusting God completely, he obtained the promise. To the world it
looked like he “chanced upon” the good fortune of having Isaac. But to Abraham, it was the attainment
of the price he paid for all those years trusting God. It cost him something, but the price could never
compare to the outcome of completely trusting the Lord.
Verse 16 we read where Paul uses a human starting point of making agreements, so the readers
can understand spiritually the depth of God’s promise to this man Abraham. Men make agreements by
swearing by a higher authority, and then they take an oath of confirmation. Today, we sign contracts,
whether on a loan, or a credit card, etc. Back then, a man’s word was his bond. If he defaulted on his
word, no one had dealings with that person. His reputation was tarnished. It would take years to
reclaim that, if he ever could. It was a trust issue. Forgiveness can be granted but trust must be earned.
If you are in a place where trust must be reestablished, be strong in the Lord and the power of His
might! Let the Lord work with you, but do everything in your power to be faithful to Him, even and
especially in the small things that do not seem to matter in the overall scheme of things. It is in the little
things that we build our foundation of trust back. Jesus said if we are faithful in that which is least, we
will be faithful in the greater things, too.
Verse 17-19 God wants to show us how unchangeable, how completely impossible it is for His
counsels to change. The qualities of God’s promises to us are so deep and strong there is absolutely no
possible way for them to be altered or distorted. But He was so concerned with our faith he confirmed
those promises with an oath. Why? So we would have a strong consolation. Sometimes the believer has
to make choices in this world that place them in some type of danger. But if we know the Lord has
promised and confirmed that promise with an oath, we know everything will turn out right. Sometimes
you may have to “flee for refuge” to lay hold of the hope set before you. Sometimes it takes every
ounce of spiritual strength to grasp and hold on to your spiritual life in Christ. This is why the Word of
God is so strong. It is an anchor for you to keep you from drifting off course, especially when the
storms and winds are all around us and it looks like all hope is gone.
Acts 27 Paul was a prisoner headed for Rome it be tried. Verse 9-11 he warned them not to go
at that time because of the danger. But they didn’t believe the counsel of God through Paul. Verse 13
the south wind blew and they supposed everything would go good despite what Paul told them. But the
south wind has deceived many. We make decisions for ourselves by the gentle winds that blow today,
not thinking that there are storms on the horizon that are so treacherous.
Verse 20 this storm raged on for many days. It was no passing shower: it was a terrible storm.
“All hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” They were driven by this perilous storm
for many days, until Paul finally spoke up with a word for them from God. Verse 21-26 he boldly
proclaimed something that at the time seemed impossible to receive. But Paul was so confident in the
Words the Lord told him he stood among unbelievers with the counsel of God. After 24 days of terrible
stormy weather and no sight of land, losing hope, weariness and painfulness and everything that went
along with this mess, Paul’s words started to come to pass. They let down the anchors because they
were able to determine they were getting near landfall. Verse 29 they cast four anchors out of the stern
and wished for the day. It’s always darkest before the dawn. But the dawn is coming! Don’t lose hope,
no matter what the situation or trial. They made land safely (some how!). And so will you if you hold
on to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

*Look up every Scripture you can find on “hope.” We learned that word is not wishful thinking,
but means “to anticipate (usually with pleasure); expectation; confidence.” Webster’s Dictionary says,
“Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good
desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish
and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.”
*I am praying you will have a great week in the Lord. May God bless you, my friend.

Pastor Bossidy