Hebrews 6:17-19 – The Soul Anchor – Bible study

Hebrews 6:17-19 The Soul Anchor The book of Hebrews is a rather deep book, mainly because it deals a lot with temple worship which many Gentiles know little about, but the writer of this book used a term in our text which I find to be both a powerful and comforting term. It is that term that I want to look at this morning. \#19\ "we have an ANCHOR OF THE SOUL." I. The Anchors Purpose A. The anchor has one purpose. 1. It is not packed on board a ship because of its beauty and versatility. 2. In fact, all of them are heavy and most are ugly. B. The purpose of the anchor is its ability to keep a ship from drifting. An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. Anchors (sic) can either be temporary or permanent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor C. However, the writer of the book of Hebrews was not talking about ship anchors but soul anchors. 1. What is the purpose of a soul anchor? 2. It is the same as that of the ship. It is to keep the soul from drifting. 3. That is the reason God used the symbol of the anchor. D. The fact that God speaks of a "soul anchor" implies some things. 1. A soul anchor implies the soul can drift. a. The soul is who you are. (1) It is the real you. (2) People change and sometimes it is the circumstances of life that changes them. (3) From time to time, people tell me of someone, "I cant believe they did that. They are not the SAME person I." (4) They are correct. (a) People change externally and internally. (b) Just as most people could not match the photo of a new born to their 60 year old image, so many will not recognize the character of a person they knew some years ago. (5) Sometimes that change is for the better. Some- times, it is for the worse. b. Life is turbulent and often sets people adrift. (1) Some things that come to my mind are the losses that life can bring such as the loss of a job, of a friendship, or a death. (2) But it can also be the unexpected addition of problems such as a sickness or an adversary into a persons life. c. Since this book was written to those who are believers, it means that even believers can drift and must be on guard against it. 2. A soul anchor implies that the soul can be and should be anchored in a place from which it does not need to drift, a place that would please the Lord. a. Parents have the most important role in anchoring a child in a good place. (1) Parents give their children their self-identity. (a) Self-identity is a relatively new term to me. (b) It means that parentsmore than any other factorhelp children to understand who they are, to get a view of their potential, their qualities, and their abilities. (c) Of course today, it even means that parents help their children to understand their gender. i. I did not say to "change" their gender but to understand it. ii. I read that to date, the youngest sex- change operation was on a four year old. https://www.wnd.com/2016/09/child-4-worlds-youngest-ever-sex-change- patient/ iii. Some doctors, some psychologists, some hospital and insurance administrators, and some parents ought to be in jail but it is the parents God-given job to help their children understand who they are. (2) Parents also teach their children self-control. (a) No child is born with self-control. (b) He or she must be taught self-control by parents, and it must then be learned by children. (c) Granted, there have always been some who refused to learn self-controleven with good parents teaching them. (d) Their decision not to control themselves makes life miserable, often ending them up in prison or in an early grave. (e) In our world of pseudo-medicine, parents are failing in greater numbers than even, opting instead of teaching to sedate the child for control. (f) While in some cases, drugs may temporarily help, nothing replaces teaching and learning self-control. (3) And-most importantlyparents can help anchor their children in Jesus Christ! (a) Parents are the most important factor in a childs live and having a correct standing with God is the most important anchor a parent can give to their child. (b) Parents, get your children to Jesus and anchor them there. b. Education also has much to do with anchoring our children. (1) Education is probably either the second most important factor in determining who a child will bethe other being his or her friends. (2) But since most of the childs friends are met at their place of education, I will put their education above their friends for influence. (3) Sadly, while it is still possible to get a good education, chances of doing so in a government school is getting less and less likely. (4) In the last few years, we have heard a lot about "fake" news, but long before there was "fake" news, there was "fake" education. (a) Does fake news exist? Did you see the Weather Channels coverage of the hurricane, where the reporter was visually being blown away about the gall winds, while a couple of people behind him were walking normally across the camera? https://mashable.com/article/weatherman-dramatically-braces-for- storm/#uliysmnOIPqJ (b) But then, to make matters worse, the Weather Channel comes out to say the weather channel was standing in grass while the others were walking on concrete. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbUrFkNRMDo (5) Does "fake" education exists? (a) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that teaches the "theory" of evolution as a fact is teaching "fake" science. (b) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that teaches American history with Americas founding as anything but a nation being founded for Christian liberty is teaching a "fake" history. (c) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that advocates socialism is teaching "fake" economics. (d) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that promotes "safe" sex over abstinence, abortion over responsibility, adultery over monogamy, or homosexuality over heterosexually is teaching a "fake" society science. (e) Any school, curriculum, or teacher that teaches the uses of genderless pronounces (Ze and Zir) is teaching a "fake" language. (f) To be honest, with common core math, I am not even sure but what they are teaching a "fake" math today. (6) It is sad, but educationlike the media and our own governmenthas become the enemy of a capitalistic, God-fearing, conservative America. (7) You say, "Preacher, why are you saying that?" (a) Because there is a place where a soul should be anchored and education is the second most important factor in that anchoring. (b) Are you sure your childs soul is being anchored in a place where God would be pleased? E. The purpose of the soul anchor is to keep it from drifting, but that means there is a place where it should be anchored AND that it can drift from that place. Hence, the need for a soul anchor. II. The Anchor A. The anchors ability comes from two things: (1) Its composition and (2) Its design. 1. Composition – The anchor is made of a heavy metal. The weight of the anchor is itself a factor in keeping the ship in its anchored spot. 2. Design – The anchor may also have barbs or flutes on it to help grip onto the waters bottom. The goal is that the barbs would grip and snag something on the bottom to keep it in place. 3. Yet again, we are not talking about a ship anchor but a soul anchor. B. \#18\ says there are two things that will help to keep the soul anchored in the correct spot. 1. It calls them "immutable things," a. The word "immutable" means unchangeable. b. These two things have always existed and they will always exist so that every soul can stay in a place that pleases God. 2. What are the two flutes on the soul anchor? a. \#17\ "the immutability of his counsel" (1) Counsel are the things we advise and tell others. (2) I am counseling you right now. (3) Gods counsel comes by His Book, the Bible. (4) As I preacher of the Bible, Iand many other preachersliterally take the Bible a partline by lineto give you the counsel that God has written into this Book. (5) This morning, let me just stick to the point this verse is making; and that is, the things God wrote into this Bible will keep you where you need to be, the place where God will be pleased with your life. (6) You may not like thatmany do not, but that is what the Book does. (7) No matter what storms come at you, the Bible keeps your soul anchored. (8) It keeps you where you need to be doing what you need to be doingso that you have peace and power and so that God is pleased with you. b. \#18\ "it was impossible for God to lie" (1) Notice that the time tense is italicized which means it is not part of the Greek. (a) It was added by the translators to help us understand the text. (b) However, the text says that we are anchored by one of two immutable things and one of them is the fact that it is impossible for God to lie. (2) That means whatever counsel God has given will stand for eternity. (a) If it worked for Moses and the children of Israel, it would work for David and the kingdom of Israel. (b) If it worked for David and the kingdom of Israel, it would work for the disciples and the church. (c) If it worked for the disciples and the church, it would work for you and the Green Pond Baptist Church. C. \#19\ The Bible says these two things make our anchor "both sure and steadfast." 1. That means the anchor will not fail us. 2. God is the Author of the counsel He gives and His power is behind every word. 3. But what about our hold on the anchor? III. The Anchors Line A. The anchor would be of no use to us unless we had a solid hold on it. 1. The anchor may grip the seabed, but the cable connecting to the ship must withstand the pull. 2. Large vessels are not content to run the risk of breakage so they use metal cables or chains to hold the anchor. B. Again, we are not talking about the ship anchor but the soul anchor. 1. If our anchor is the counsel and certainty of God, then the chain must be Jesus Christ. 2. We are connected to the Word of God through Jesus. 3. Tell me, do you have firm grip on Jesus Christ? C. The marvelous thing about an anchor is you cannot see it doing its work. All you can is to hold on to the chain. 1. So I cannot tell you how God will keep His promises to you. All I can tell you is that He will. 2. But I can tell you want you must do. You must hold on to the Chain, Jesus Christ. 3. By holding on to the chain, you will stay connected to the anchor A boy was flying a kite and let the string out so far that he could no longer see the kite. A woman asked how he knew the kite was still there. He answered, "Because I feel the tug on the string." How do I know God will keep His promises? I feel the tug on my Jesus rope. He comforts me and tells me that He is still there. https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-anchor-john-gaston-sermon- on-anchor-177722?page=2&wc=800