Now we're in the study in Matthew, but since
we've had some time off, I was reading and I
wanted to go back and visit some things just
in my own personal study and the idea of this
anchor in Hebrews 6. I started looking at it
and it just was really rich and it ministered
to me and I'm like, I would like to give this
to the church. So we're going to take a break
from Matthew this morning and we're going to
look at Hebrews chapter 6. We'll be looking at
the whole chapter, but our text will primarily
be verses 18 through 20. It may seem a little
disjointed, like why did I pick it up there?
And I hope that will become clear as we continue
in the sermon. The author, whom we do not know,
says that by two immutable things, immutable,
unchangeable, in which it is impossible for God
to lie, we might have strong consolation. who
have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope
set before us. This hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
enters into the presence behind the veil, where
the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus,
having become high priest forever, according
to the order of Melchizedek. Would you pray with
me? Father, thank you for your word. Thank you
for the richness of this passage, the beauty
of it. Lord God, we ask, Lord, this morning for
your help, that, Lord, you would give us the
help of the Holy Spirit of God that would allow
us not to hear from man, but to hear from you,
Lord. This is your word. It has relevance to
your people. Lord God, would you help me to articulate
it clearly and to be reminded that I will give
an account for every idle word that is spoken
in the day of judgment. Help my words not to
be idle or unhelpful, but God, only let what
is true be spoken. And Father, may Christ get
the glory, because in that you take pleasure.
And we ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus.
Amen. I owned a little pleasure boat. And I remember
one time Josh Freeman, he said that the two most
important things on my boat were the distress
flag and the anchor. And he said those are the
most important because any time people would
go out with me, the boat was always breaking
down. I could not tell you how many times I had
to literally have people tow me in or several
times I even swam the thing in myself. So the
anchor, it's important, right? Especially on
a boat. Because as we know, the anchor keeps
us from moving with the current. But I've also
learned the hard way, anchors will only work
if they're attached to something solid. Now the
book of Hebrews, the one we just referenced,
it gives us a picture this morning of an anchor
that is attached to the most solid, immovable
thing in all the universe, which is God himself.
Now again, I can testify, trust me, if you've
never been on a boat where an anchor is needed,
let me just say it is important that you have
one. Yes, anchors are important. And all of us
need an anchor. And we do because the storms
of life inevitably come. You and I, we need something
that our life, and let's say for metaphor, that
the ship of our life can be attached to that
will not give way. You have to be attached to
something eternal. If you're not tethered to
something eternal, we will be adrift. Now everyone
in the world, lost and believers alike, everyone
has an anchor. But the problem for so many, this
is the problem for so many, is that their anchor
is tied to things that move. And this is where
we see in our culture today, things like health.
Now listen, health is important and we ought
not to take it for granted. But if the anchor,
if you think that by your own volition that you're
going to have longevity simply because you're
eating well and you're exercising regularly,
God is sovereign. Jesus said, who by taking thought
can even add one hour to his lifespan? It is
not a sure anchor. Money. The book of Proverbs
says money you'll find, you'll wake up and it
will take wings and fly away. Beauty. You're
going to get old if God allows. Beauty fades.
Titles. Our names will be forgotten in the history
books. Reputation. All these are very movable
anchors. And when the storms of life come, and
they always do, the anchors will not and cannot
hold. Unless you have your life tethered. to
that which cannot be moved, then you will be
adrift. You will be at the mercy of your own
wisdom and the mercy of your own understanding.
And that's going to prove futile in time to come.
These anchors always prove feeble. This is why
storms, the storms come to test us. God in his
mercy sends storms to let us see what are we
being anchored to. Jesus said it this way at
the end of the Sermon on the Mount, his very
last illustration in Matthew 7, he said it this
way. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of
mine and does them, I will tell you what he's
like. He's like a wise man who built his house
on the rock. The rain descended, it always will.
The floods came and the winds blew and beat on
that house. It did not fall. It was found on
the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings
of mine and does not do them, let me tell you
what he's like. He's like the foolish man. He
also built his house, but he built it on the
sand. The same storm came, the rains descended,
the floods came, and the winds blew, beat on
that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.
Our central text is actually taken from the book
of Hebrews this morning. We need to understand
something a little bit about the background or
we'll miss it. The letter to the Hebrews, it
was written, we don't know who, many say the
Apostle Paul, we don't know. It was written to
Jewish believers. We do know this, they were
experiencing persecution. There was social pressure.
They became tired, there was fatigue, all because
they were publicly identified with Christ. You
see, under Roman law, Judaism was a protected
religion. But Christianity was seen as a sect
or a cult, a branch off of Judaism that was not
protected under Roman law, and thus it brought
suspicion, and because people were suspicious,
it made them an easy target, and it brought persecution.
Now these people, the ones that are receiving
this letter, had all been Jewish. These are Hebrew
believers. So now because they are identified
with Christ and they're suffering so much, there's
a temptation to abandon their public identification
with Jesus and suffering stops. I mean, life
is getting too hard. So they were tempted to
return to their former way of life, living as
Jews and relying on the temple system, which
is what they had done in their youth. Now, why
would anyone ever decide to do that? Because
the storms of life had come. And these people
are being beaten mercilessly and tossed mercilessly
by this storm. They're being persecuted. Why?
Simply because they're Christians. Some, we know,
later on, you can go in chapters 9 and 10 and
11, some were forced from homes and lands. Literally,
they had them confiscated and taken away. Others
were even put to death. Now, if you want to put
yourself in their shoes, you're at this meeting
and you go home and now your home's gone. You're
homeless. Your land is confiscated by the government.
And there's nothing, there's no recourse you
can do. So these people are weary and they're
afraid. And some were being tempted to consider
turning away from Christ and let's just go back
to Judaism. Life will be better. And the author
wrote to them, don't do that. There is no salvation
outside of Christ. You will damn yourself. Verses
4 through 8. For it is impossible for those who
were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly
gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit
and have tasted the good word of God and the
power of the ages to come, if they fall away,
that means apostasy. If they fall away, it is
impossible, he says, to renew them again to repentance,
since they crucify again for themselves the Son
of God, and they put him to an open shame. For
the earth, which drinks in the rain that often
comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for by
those whom it is cultivated, receives blessing
from God. So the rain falls and produces herbs
and crops, it's good. But if it produces thorns
and briars, meaning fruit here, It's rejected
and near to being cursed, whose end is to be
burned. There's judgment. Now there's a strong
warning here. There's a couple of them throughout
this book. The author warned them, he's giving
them a warning of the dangers of apostasy. Now
what is apostasy? It is to willfully turn away
from Christ. This is not having doubts or questions.
All of us go through seasons like that. Apostasy,
the one who's in danger of this, is they understand
the truth. They're not confused. They get it.
And they deliberately and willfully turn away
from it. Apostasy is the public repudiation of
Christ. You are formally saying Jesus is not
the divine son of God who came as Messiah and
Lord. It is to treat the Lord Jesus worthy of
shame. It's to align yourself with those who
actually crucified him. So when we're talking
about this sin here, apostasy is a deliberate,
settled repudiation of Christ. It's not some
private internal struggle that you may endure.
Now there's a real possibility of some of these
believers committing this sin. But the author
is persuaded that these people, those who received
his letter, would not fall into this deadly sin.
Now how do we know that? Verse 9. We are confident
of better things concerning you. Don't fall away,
but I'm confident that you won't. We're persuaded
of better things. Yes, things that accompany
salvation, though we speak in this manner. So
he's warning them. He's giving a real warning
of the danger of apostasy. At the same time,
he's encouraging them, do not give up your faith
in Christ. Those who received this letter, they
needed to know something. There is irreversible
judgment for apostasy. They understood the truth,
they turned from it, and there is no repentance.
You can't bring them back. They align themselves
with the enemies of Christ. But the author assumed
this would not happen to those to whom he was
writing. He said, I'm confident of better things,
things that accompany salvation. So I ask you,
what accompanies salvation? Perseverance in the
faith. Perseverance, let me just say this, is
not the cause of salvation. But it is the fruit
of salvation. He was persuaded, the author was
persuaded, that the recipients of this letter
would persevere. They're not going to turn their
backs on Christ. They're going to continue on
with him in spite of the tremendous suffering.
So the warning, a real warning, it was not meant
to produce despair in them. Rather, it was meant
to produce a holy fear that would cause them
to continue with Christ even though there was
great suffering. So now he lays out the consequences
very clearly. If you do this, if then this. But
he also encouraged them, listen, God is faithful.
God is going to fulfill his promises. Just cling
to Christ. Don't give up. Don't go back. And
he gives them an example. And the first example
he gave them was the example of Abraham. You
know the story. Abraham was given a promise from
God. You're going to have a son, Abraham, with
your wife, Sarah. Now, years passed. He had to
wait for that promise to be fulfilled. In fact,
he waited 25 long years for God's promise to
be answered. Nevertheless, the promise came.
The promise was fulfilled. And what's the point?
Why is the author writing this way? He's showing
them that God is faithful and his word always
proves reliable. And this is the point. You can
always count on God to keep his word, even if.
Your present circumstances are telling you otherwise.
Because that's what was happening. There was
nothing around them that said, hey, I'm the object
of God's affection and delight. Now the promise
for Abraham, it did not come when he had hoped.
Surely when Abraham first got that promise, he
was thinking next year, hey, we'll have a boy.
No. God was testing him. But it came. And the
lesson for us is that God often makes us wait.
but his word is always sure. Now, you know the
story of Abraham. After the promise for a son
to be born came, Abraham's faith was even more
severely tested. You would think that Abraham
had suffered enough. You would think that he
had proven himself enough, but no, God tempted
him even more, tested him, I should say. And
he said, I want you to offer up that son of promise,
Isaac, as a sacrifice. Well, you know that Abraham
successfully came through that trial. And after
he did, God reiterated to Abraham his promise.
And this time he confirmed it with an oath. He
swore. God swore. Took a vow. And he swore by
himself. That's what Hebrews is saying in verses
17 and 18. Thus God, determining to show more
abundantly to the heirs of promise, that's you
and me, the immutability, the unchangeableness
of his counsel, He confirms it by an oath that
by two immutable things in which it is impossible
for God to lie, we might have strong consolation,
strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge
to lay hold of the hope which is set before us.
There are two immutable, unchangeable things.
God's promise and God's oath. You would think,
now friends, listen, God's promise alone is sufficient.
But God then took a vow. He swore that he was
telling the truth, which made it doubly secure.
And again, what's the point? Why is the author
doing this? He wants believers to know you can
always trust God despite adverse circumstances
because God will never fail to keep his word.
He will always keep it. And the fact that God
is a promise keeper is an anchor for your soul.
You see this with Abraham and his wife Sarah.
At the age of 190, they're promised a child.
Things looked hopeless. I mean, honestly, if
we look back, it almost seems ridiculous. You
look and you see here's a couple. He's 100, she's
90, and God's like, you're going to conceive.
God makes 90 -year -old women conceive in order
to fulfill his promise, if need be. God makes
even virgins conceive in order to fulfill his
promise. See, we've got to be linked, we've got
to be tethered or anchored to the promise of
Almighty God. God, back in Genesis, promised
a serpent -crushing deliverer, Messiah, would
come to Israel. And he did. Galatians 4, but
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth his Son. God will not, cannot, is incapable
of reneging on any promise that he's ever made.
This is why you can anchor your life to him.
You can count on him. And this is the Christian's
hope. This is what I want to talk about this
morning. The Christian's hope lies in God's unchangeable,
immutable promise so that you may possess the
unshakable encouragement to hold fast to Christ.
Let me say that one more time. The Christian
hope. lies in God's unchangeable promise so that
you and I might possess the unshakable encouragement
to hold fast to Christ. Our assurance is not
rooted in our own faithfulness, rather in God's.
Our salvation is not grounded in what we have
done, but what God has promised to his people
in Christ. It's all about God. What did God promise?
He promised that all who repent of their sin
and place their faith in Jesus Christ will be
saved. That's a promise of God. Our salvation
is certain because God made a promise and then
he took an oath. He swore that his promises are
reliable. That is double security. But here's
where we're often tripped up. That promise of
ultimate deliverance and salvation does not mean
that the winds of adversity will not blow in
our lives today. God's people certainly experience
crisis moments. But that doesn't change nor alter
the promise that he's made. In fact, it shows
to prove the reliability of his promise. This
is where I think sometimes we buy into what the
world and Christian television tells us. If you
turn on Christian programming for any length
of time, there'll eventually be some fake preacher
on there who's going to talk about it is God's
will that the Christian prosper and be in health
at all times because you're a son of royalty.
It's a lie. The storms of life will come to the
Christian as well. God promised it. And these
Hebrew believers, they lost everything. Reputation,
gone. Homes, gone. Lands, gone. Freedom, gone.
And some had even been put to death. But the
writer says, listen, all that being true, none
of that alters the promise of God. Heaven's your
home and Christ is your inheritance, even if
you lose your life. Now look at verses 19 and
20. This hope that God keeps his promise, we
have as an anchor of the soul. It is sure, it's
steadfast, it's not letting go. And which enters...
The presence behind the veil. Oh, that's so good.
We'll get to it in a moment. Where the forerunner
has entered in for us, even Jesus, having become
high priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek. So the word hope there, right? And
we've said this so many times. Most of you know
this. But when the Bible uses the word hope,
particularly the New Testament, it does not mean
wishful thinking. It means a confident expectation.
So the word, you know, we use this word like,
well, I hope it doesn't snow or I hope the ice
melts. But no, that's not biblical hope. Biblical
hope is confidence and it's an expectation that
what God has promised, I am confident and expectant,
will come to pass. That's what it means to have
hope. And this confidence that God keeps his
promises, you have to be fully persuaded, God
keeps his promises. He said that's the anchor
for your soul right there. Just like a ship's
anchor keeps that boat from drifting and being
secure in the midst of a storm, this confidence,
this confident hope or expectation keeps the
believer anchored even when violent storms enter
into your life. And our church has seen them
this past year. The Puritan Samuel Rutherford,
he says, Our salvation is fastened with God's
own hand and Christ's own strength. To the strong
stake of God's unchangeable nature. Amen. It's
sure and steadfast. This anchor you have, it's
sure, it's steadfast. It can't be moved. It can't
be broken. It can't be shaken. It is founded
upon the character of God himself. That's why
it's sure. And God has given this promise. And
then he promised, he swore, he gave an oath.
What mercy, what condescension from the Almighty.
Now I want you to notice something. Where does
this anchor go? Most anchors go down, right?
They go down to the bottom of a river, the bottom
of a sea. But this anchor goes up. It goes up
into heaven. Notice he says it goes within the
veil, behind the curtain. What's he saying? Oh,
he's writing to Jews. They know exactly what
he's saying. This anchor goes into the throne
room of God. The anchor goes into the very holy
of holies. How? Because the Lord Jesus has already
gone before us with his own blood into that very
room. He has gone before us. Our anchor, it's
not tied to shifting circumstances. Rather, it
is tethered to the presence of God. Love that.
The world has hopes and it has dreams. But friends,
all the world has is wishful thinking. That's
all they have. So we see people and we hear that
they hope for world peace. And that's a beautiful
hope. They hope for security or prosperity or
we hope that there's a cure for diseases like
cancer. But none of that is based on promise.
There's no divine promise. So therefore, the
world's hope is uncertain and it ends in futility,
which leads to despair, which leads to depression,
because there is nothing solid to which they
can anchor their hope upon. But not so for the
Christian. The Christian has confidence. He has
encouragement that no matter what the circumstances
of life bring, he has been accepted in Christ,
heaven is his home, and God is his father. And
all of that is based upon the unchanging, immutable
promise that God has given. And the writer says
that's an anchor for your soul. Tie your life
to it. He said that anchor goes behind the veil.
Remember the earthly temple and the earthly tabernacle?
There's a thick curtain that divided the inner
and the outer chambers of the temple or tabernacle.
So no one could see through the curtain. It was
a very thick curtain, and behind it was the very
Holy of Holies. And it was off limits to everyone
except the high priest, and only he could go
in on one day of the year on the Day of Atonement.
No other time could anyone ever go in there or
it was certain death. Now, so you had the Holy
of Holies. That curtain, then on this side would
be what's called the holy place. On the other
side, the holy of holies. What was inside the
holy of holies? The Ark of the Covenant. Why
was that so significant? Because it represented
the presence of God. God promised to dwell with
his people and he did there in the Ark. Now we
are told, Hebrews 6, tells us that Jesus entered,
he went behind the veil. He went into the Holy
of Holies and he anchored us, his people, into
the very throne room of God. You and I are anchored
in heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
stability. That's security. Storms are going
to come. I can't say that enough. I think that
one of the things you cannot, you must have a
theology of suffering in your life or you will
be blown off course. storms are going to come
trials will always enter our lives yet because
we've been anchored in christ we will not ultimately
be blown off course so you can't and those storms
they serve a purpose they're going to show the
reliability of this anchor which is why it's
such a wonderful testimony and witness when god's
people endure suffering well because it points
to the unchangeable promise that they're clinging
to in christ See, why do trials come? Well, we
don't have to guess. 1 Peter tells us that sometimes
God sends trials to prove and try and test our
faith. 1 Peter 1. In this, you greatly rejoice.
Really? Though now for a little while, if need
be, you have been grieved, so you're greatly
rejoicing. Well, right now you might be sorrowing
by various trials. Now, he says, now notice his
purpose statement, that the genuineness of your
faith. the authenticity of your faith, being
much more precious than gold that perishes, though
it is tested by fire, it may be found to the
praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of
Jesus Christ. He said, you're going to ultimately,
you're going to rejoice. Right now you may be
grieved, because right now life hurts. Jesus
promised his disciples, he said, in the world
you have tribulation. But he gave you a promise
to anchor you there. John 16, 33. These things
have I spoken to you that in me you may have
peace. Praise God. In the world, no. You're going
to have tribulation. You're going to have trials.
You're going to have suffering. But be of good
cheer. Take heart. For I've conquered the world.
I've overcome it. See, the Christian, what Jesus
is telling us, we're not exempt. From life in
a fallen world. Life in a fallen world is hard.
It hurts. There's suffering. That means cancer
may come. We're not exempt from that. That means
you may lose your job. You may experience a financial
downturn. You may have your home be repossessed.
You may have many woes. The government may bring
persecution. You may be ridiculed at work. You
may be ostracized at your job. You may be ostracized
at school. But he said none of those are going
to shake you from the anchor that's holding in
Christ. Don't quit. Persevere. Why? Because you're
secure in him. Your anchor's in heaven and it
can't be moved. Another reason God sends trials
is to loosen this world's grip upon you. I promise
you this, if you've ever gone through a season
of suffering, what's ultimately important comes
sharply into focus. When you're sitting in a
hospital room and you're wondering if that person's
going to lose their life or not, you don't care
about 401ks, you don't care about retirement
plans, you don't care about homes. When trials
come, what's ultimately important becomes very
clear. They have a way of centering us to what
is ultimate. What is ultimate? The kingdom of
God. Which is why the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6
verse 33 said what? Seek first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness because that's ultimate.
In the old temple, the veil separated the people
from God's presence. There was a separation.
But because of the work of Christ, because of
his atonement, the veil has been removed, torn
in two, and there's no longer separation between
God and his people. See, Jesus didn't just enter
into the veil behind the Holy of Holies. Rather,
he tore that thing in two from top to bottom
by his nail -pierced hands. It's gone. Christ
has carried us as our forerunner, our trailblazer,
into God's presence. And he stays there. constantly
mediating as a priest for us. That's what verse
20 says. Where the forerunner has entered for
us, even Jesus, having become high priest for
how long? Forever. According to the order of
Melchizedek. What is a forerunner? He's like
a Toyota. No, that's not what we're talking about
here. It's one who goes ahead of us. You could
use the word trailblazer. That's probably another
vehicle, isn't it? Stop about vehicles, but we're
talking about Jesus here. But someone who goes
before us. Now how do we know, how are we certain,
how are we confident that God's promises do not
and will not fail? Because Jesus is already there.
He went before us. And he anchored us there.
Lewis Talbot said this in his commentary. He
said, So you've got the Mediterranean there,
which is where a lot of the people who received
this letter would have been living. Greek harbors
were often cut off by the sea by sandbars, and
larger ships could not pass that sandbar until
the full tide came in. So they would have a lighter
vessel, a forerunner, that would take the big
ship's anchor and drop it off in the harbor.
From that moment, that big ship was safe from
the storm, but it still had to wait for the tide
before it could ever enter in the harbor. The
entrance of the small vessel or the forerunner
into that harbor carrying the ship's anchor was
the pledge that the ship would safely enter the
harbor as soon as the tide was full. Christ,
because he's our forerunner, has entered heaven
itself, having torn asunder everything that separates
the redeemed sinner from the presence of God.
He himself is the pledge that we too shall one
day enter into the harbor of our souls, into
the very presence of God in the new Jerusalem.
That's what a forerunner does. Christ has anchored
us in our union, in our union with Christ. We
are anchored to him and there's nothing that
gets to separate us from him. Paul wrote about
that in Romans 8 so beautifully, so eloquently.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Tribulation, no. Distress, persecution, famine,
nakedness, peril, sword. You think suffering
doesn't come? Look at verse 36. As it is written,
for your sake we are killed all day long. We're
counted sheep for the slaughter. Paul said, don't
despair. Yet in all these things we are still
more than conquerors through him who loved us.
How? How are you more than a conqueror when you're
getting slaughtered like an animal? For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life. Nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing shall be able to separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Amen. I love that. Now notice what
he didn't say. There's no promise that tribulation
or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness
or peril or sword doesn't come to your life.
In fact, these people experience those things.
The promise from God is that they can't tear
you away from Christ's love. They can't separate
you from Christ. Jesus told his disciples before
he was crucified, on the night before, he told
them, I'm going ahead of you, John 14. Let not
your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions.
In other words, there's rooms, there's dwelling
places. If it were not so, I would have told
you. But I go, I'm going first to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and I will receive you
to myself. Why? So that where I am, there you
may be also. This is our forerunner, our trailblazer.
Jesus went on ahead of us. He blazed the trail
so that you and I can come behind him, follow
in his footsteps, and enter into the Holy of
Holies with him. How, though? You and I are defiled.
We're sinful. But Jesus cleansed us by his atoning
work, his atonement, his shed blood. And now
he stands in heaven. representing us before the
Father, pleading the merits of his sacrifice
and his obedience for his people. He's become
a high priest forever. We have in Jesus a great
high priest. What's he doing? He's standing in
the throne room of God, constantly interceding
for his church as high priest forever. Praise
God, we've got a priest that's constantly mediating
for us. Instead of fear, instead of temerity,
we can have boldness to enter the throne room
of God. Isn't that presumption? Isn't that arrogance?
No, because Jesus is there. Come boldly now.
This is what the writer is saying in chapter
4. I hope all this is starting to become clear.
See, because of what Christ did, see, in the
old covenant, you never had boldness. You didn't
go behind the veil. You would be foolish to go
behind the veil. You would die to do that. But
now, seeing that we have a great high priest
who's passed through the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Don't give up. For we don't have a high priest
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
rather was in all points tempted as we are yet
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to
the throne of grace. Why? That we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in our time of need
because we're all going to have times of need.
Yeah, the people of God have always faced challenges.
I know I sound like a stuck record on this, but
trials and storms. Will come, and that's even
clearly seen in this letter. You don't need to,
but you can go over five chapters to the end
of chapter 11. The first part of chapter 11 is
a great hall of faith, and you see all these
people who conquered, who did victorious feats,
and it's just wonderful, and we're praising God
for all the wonderful things they did. And then
you get to the end of the chapter, and you read
this, verse 36. Still others. There were some
other people, though. They had trial of mockings
and scourgings, just like Jesus was scourged.
Yes, of chains, imprisonment. They were stoned.
Literally rocks hurled at them until they breathed
their last. They were sawn in two. They were
tempted. They were slain with a sword. They wandered
about in sheepskins and goatskins. They're homeless,
destitute, afflicted, tormented. And this is
what we scratch our head, of whom the world was
not worthy. They were not bereft of God. They
were chosen, precious possession of God. They
wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and
caves of the earth. And yet the world is not
worthy of these people, right? What the writer
wants his people to know, because remember, he's
writing to a persecuted church. The Christian
must sail through stormy seas. We do. Life has
a way of bringing that to us. But he does so
being anchored to Jesus Christ. We're sailing.
Winds are churning. Sea is raging. And Christ
is anchored. That knowledge, if you have that,
and you have it here, you have it here. I mean,
it's in your DNA. That secures you even in the
most violent storm imaginable. That's why people
who endure things and you're like, how do they
do it? They're looking toward the promise that
God is a promise keeper. This will all be different
one day. So our confidence, as we close here,
our confidence comes from knowing that the believer,
that we are, anchored in heaven behind the veil.
We are anchored in Christ. He's our forerunner
who went to prepare a place for us. We are anchored
in our high priest. Jesus is the eternal high
priest after the order of Melchizedek. And we
are anchored in the promise and oath of God who
cannot lie. God's promise plus God's oath gives
the people of God an unbreakable assurance that
causes us to persevere till the end. I want you
to know this, church. Your hope is not fragile.
And you know why it's not fragile? Because it
doesn't rest in you. It doesn't rest in me. It
rests, the hope of the believer rests in the
unchangeable promise of God and the finished
work of Christ. Jesus, he's already gone in the
holy place and he secured your future. It's secure.
So what do we do now? This is the whole purpose
of this message. It's the whole tenor of the
book of Hebrews. So what do we do in light of
that? We hold fast with confidence because our
anchor holds. That's what you can cling to. Let's
pray. Father, Lord, you have given us your sure
word. It is good. It is rich. Lord, I think of
some brothers and sisters from this church right
now who are going through difficult times. I
think of Christy Davis, Lord, with breast cancer
and no doubt uncertainty and some fear. God,
I pray that, Lord, you would undergird her with
the strength she needs as she endures this long
battle ahead of her. Lord, but knowing that,
Lord God, she is anchored in Christ and that
is going to give her the strength she needs to
persevere. Father, I thank you of my sister Rose,
Lord. who's now in the hospital, Lord, now going
on almost entering into a second week. Father,
I pray that, God, you would help her, Lord, especially
as she's battling pleurisy. But, Lord, I know
that she's not feeling well. And, Lord, God,
that she's having trouble breathing and other
things. And, Lord, God, that brings fear. But,
Lord, bring peace with the certainty that she's
anchored to Christ. Lord, as we got a call last
night in the middle of the night. Praying for
John Paul, Lord, as he was on his way to an ER,
not knowing what was going to happen. Lord, we're
thankful that we can call upon you, Lord, in
the darkest moments, even the middle of the night.
For you don't sleep, you don't slumber, you don't
take a nap. Lord, you're there for your people.
We are anchored in heaven. Lord, there are some
of these dear saints, Lord, who have gone through
really unbearable things, humanly speaking. But
their anchor has held because you have given
them Christ. You're holding us. We're not holding
you. The anchor is Christ himself, and he's in
the presence of God. They're mediating for us.
Thank you for that. Lord, as we prepare to celebrate
this, Lord, your presence with us at the table,
Lord, your covenant faithfulness, because you're
in covenant with us, Lord, you will never, ever
lie or renege or break a promise. And, Lord,
that's what we celebrate. This promise has been
ratified in the body and blood of your son, Jesus.
And in that, we take comfort and joy. Father,
we take delight in this. Lord God, meet us at
this table by your spirit. Not do we only remember,
but we commune with Jesus, our risen Lord. Thank
you for the anchor, the one who holds it. Lord
God, thank you for the gift of salvation in your
son. Thank you for sending him to the world that
we might have life in him. Lord, if there's anyone
here this morning, Lord God, who's away from
Christ, who's separated from him, may you bring
this awareness to them, Lord, that the one who
has a son has life. and the one who does not
have the Son of God does not have life, but the
wrath of God abides upon him. Show them, Lord,
that there is salvation. Lord, open their eyes
to the beauty and glory that is Christ. Lord,
we'll want to give you the praise for that. We
ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Deacons, would
you come and prepare the table?