Anchor – Week 4

Anchor

Week 4: Remain

We must learn to remain firm and steadfast in Jesus. Apart from Him, we have no hope. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the firm and secure anchor.

Here we are church the last week of our anchor series, this 4 series was built around a single verse of the Bible; Hebrews 6:19 which says:

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…”

An anchor as I mentioned the first week is used by fishermen and sailors for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The basic concept of an anchor is that it, the definition if you were to ask Google “is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current.”

An anchor is simple in its design, but powerful in its function.

As believers, we are encouraged to remain steadfast and committed in our faith through every trial and storm that life may bring. You may remember from last week that it’s not a matter of if the storms of life will come, it’s a matter of when. And when they come, you want to be prepared, you want to have a firm grip on the anchor of your soul, Jesus.

Today we’re going to talk more about maintaining that grip throughout life. The Bible uses words like perseverance and steadfastness to describe enduring faith. But there’s another word I want us to add to our vocabulary today, and that’s the word remain.

To remain is to stay… and in our fast paced, ever changing culture it’s become more and more of a rarity to remain. To hunker down for the long haul. Whether it be relationships, or jobs, or even zip codes. We are a culture that is constantly on the move. From one thing to another, many of us become enamored with the new shiny things or tired and bored of the old ones. Whatever the case may be, this isn’t how faith works.

In fact, God calls us to remain, to hold fast, and to root ourselves in faith and righteousness.

His invitation is forever, not just for a little while.

As a matter of fact Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you.  He remains with us through the storms, but all to often when things aren’t quite like we think they should be we as the song says, “hit the road Jack.”

One of the ideas of this series is that the only firm and secure anchor is Christ. He is the one that will hold through any trial and every storm. There may be other anchors, but eventually they all give way and fail. So we learn to hold on, sometimes for dear life, but we learn to hold fast. We learn to remain.

John 15:5–8 (NIV): 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This passage is so important for those who believe. Jesus actually says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” But what does that mean?   Is it worth it to gain the whole world but lose your soul, as Matthew tells us,  in the process? What are you holding onto?

Let me give you an illustration there is a very creative way that African bushmen find water.

Have you ever heard about the salt, tree, and baboon trick?  Let me fill you in on it. . .

“When water is scarce, African bushmen have created a way to find new sources of it. They might not know where the water is, but often the local animals do. But you can’t just ask an animal for directions, you have to be a bit more clever.   In less of course your Dr. Doolittle.

First, the bushman puts a block of salt in a hole and they wait. How many of you like salt?  Well, apparently baboons love salt as well.  And with enough time, one of these beautiful creatures will come by and try to grab the block of salt from the hole. The baboon goes to stick their hand in, grab the salt, but the salt makes his hand bigger, trapping his hand in the hole.

To escape, all the baboon has to do is let go of the salt, but they don’t want to do that! So, they stay stuck until the bushman comes around, grabs them, and puts them in a cage. Once in the cage, the bushman gives them all the salt they want. The salt makes the baboon thirsty, then the bushman releases the baboon who will immediately rush to get water to quench their thirst. The bushman follows the baboon and they both drink their fill.

What an inventive way to find water isn’t it? And if your like most people that hear this technique for the first time they always wonder why the baboon can’t just drop the salt. Why can’t it let go when it realizes it’s stuck and that it’s not going to get what it wants?

The truth is, it’s because it’s in our nature, you see it’s not just the baboon that falls for this trap, we humans do as well.

We see something we want and we’ll hold on to it despite the cost to ourselves.  Material wealth, status, prestige. . .There are many things we hold on to even though it potentially makes us miserable.

Letting go of some of the things we cling to takes courage.

Why is it we don’t just let go of the proverbial salt and grab hold of Jesus? John 15:8 reminds us that this is all to the glory of the Father. All this holding tight to Christ, and asking the Father for the things we need. It brings Him glory, it brings Him pleasure to care for His creation. And it makes sense, because as any father knows, it’s an absolute delight to see your kids healthy, happy, and prospering.

One of the most amazing things about the love of God for His creation is that He loved us first. Before we could ever reciprocate that love, before our relationship with Him could be permanently restored, He loved.

1 John 4:9–10 (TPT): The light of God’s love shined within us when he sent his matchless Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins.

That passage gives us a clear explanation for how God loves us. He sent His son.  Remember John 3:16?  God sent Jesus to sacrifice His life on behalf of creation in order to restore the relationship.

I can remember when John was born, it was this way with all my kids I use John because he was first.  When John was born I was able to hold him, yes I even changed a few diapers, fed him.  Pray over him, I was walking on cloud nine.  I wanted the best for him. I loved him. Still do.  When he couldn’t love me in return, I loved him.

And that’s how it is with God.   Before we even acknowledged Him, before we spent time in worship towards Him.  When we were. . .

Romans 5:6–8 (TPT): For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate his love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves. 7 Now, who of us would dare to die for the sake of a wicked person? We can all understand if someone was willing to die for a truly noble person. 8 But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!

My point in all this is to say that God loves you. He has a purpose and a plan for your life. He has a room in heaven waiting for you. . . A seat at the heavenly banquet table.   He formed and knit you together in the womb (Psalm 139). And He uniquely gifted you with a role to play in the body of Christ, the church. . .the community of living stones that He is so carefully putting together into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2) And what God is building, His church, not even the gates of hell can come against it.

With all He’s done, why would you ever let go of Jesus?  Why wouldn’t you want to remain with Him, forever?

The answer to that, among other things, is that we are prone to wander. Prone to be distracted by worldly pleasures and practices. Prone to forget and prone to get disgruntled and frustrated.

Isaiah 53:6 (NIV): We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God warns us we all have a tendency to go astray, each to our own way.   It’s been a thorn in our side from the very beginning. . .and the remedy is Jesus. The antidote is to let go of all our independent pride and grab hold of Jesus. He alone is the firm and secure anchor of our souls.

Share story of when I first got saved and a friend came by and wanted a drink from my dads bar and punched in the face and knocked me to the floor.

At some point, all of us grow tired of wandering. We come to the end of ourselves and we realize God was there all along. Waiting patiently for us to return, like the prodigal son to His father, God stayed. He remained faithful and true even when we wandered from Him.

And His desire is that all the left would return, and those who haven’t stay.  He is the anchor that keeps us secure.

I can’t pretend to understand how difficult your life has been or how deep the pain goes. For many of us, life has been hard enough for long enough that we’ve learned through past experiences that we cannot trust anyone else. We’ve learned to rely on ourselves, our abilities, and learned to live with our own limitations. If I fail myself, at least I only have myself to blame. And that feels like a simpler equation than the many alternatives and options available.

I realize that asking you to let go of whatever you’re holding onto and grabbing hold of Jesus is like asking you to climb Mt. Everest on no sleep with no training. It seems impossible.

But what if Jesus was telling the truth? What if life with Him, remaining with Him, was a better option than everything you’ve tried before? What if giving your life to Jesus meant having peace, rest, and contentment?

At some point in between battles and running for his own life, King David wrote Psalm 23. I want to share the first few verses with you today, as you consider what life with Christ might look like.

David writes;

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.” – Psalm 23:1-3

What if holding onto Jesus meant green pastures, still waters, and restoration? What if it meant an eternity of what Psalm 23 describes?

Church it’s time to let go of the proverbial salt today, and grab hold of the only firm and secure anchor for your soul.   Jesus.