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Hope – An Anchor for the Soul
Hope is an anchor for the soul. Let’s think this morning about how our anchor is doing.
Hebrews 6:11-20
There are three things that are necessary for happiness.
– Someone to love
– Something to do
– Something to look forward to
The third part of this, having something to look forward to is where hope comes in.
The world is a boat without an anchor. There is nothing solid for this world to tie to.
The Bible tells us that this anchor that we need is found in Christ.
What is Hope?
Hope is the assurance of future good. Hope is confident expectancy of God’s promise. God doesn’t need to swear to assure us of things, but he did so here in our text.
Our hope. Our assurance is that we will come out at a good place. Life will end with a future before us, a future spent in the presence of the king.
God has given us this promise. God cannot lie.
Hope is an Eternal Perspective
As apposed to seeing only with earthly eyes and perspective, hope allows us to have an eternal perspective.
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5
Being able to see beyond the here and now. That is a huge difference between those who have hope and those who don’t have hope.
Hope isn’t looking forwards to retirement. Hope is knowing that there is a life beyond this life. The tent that we are living in now is just a tent, it is temporary.
Hope is a foundation upon which to build
Hope is to be something that we build our lives on. It is a focal point around which we can rally, a purpose for living, it is what we look forwards to.
It is so important for us to continually be checking the connection to the anchor for our souls – Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 6:19
The anchor that we have is firm. It is failsafe. It is based on God and his character.
We must continue to base our lives and anchor all that we do and are in the hope that we have.
Hope is patience and perseverance
Romans 15, Romans 8:22
What Hope Does
- Hope helps us endure – 1 Peter 1:3
- Hope helps us see the character of God and place our focus on Him – Genesis 22
- Hope provides a connection to God – Romans 8:31
- Hope provides an excellent witness
- Hope promotes holy/clean living – Titus 2:11
What Shall We Do?
What should we be doing to help build this anchor for our souls? Strengthening the anchor for our souls is important.
- Receive comfort from the scriptures – Romans 15:4 – Psalm 119
- Allow experiences to build character and character to build hope – Romans 5:3
- Be involved in God’s work – Hebrews 6:10
- Allow the Holy Spirit to work – Romans 15:13
Anchor your life in God, in Jesus… check that anchor, make sure it’s tight, make sure its there.