Life can be uncertain! Things can change in an instant! So, what keeps your feet on the ground? What gives you certainty? What is the foundation that your life is built on? Maybe you have never looked at life from this perspective. Well, there's no better time to do it than now. This message may get you thinking. I hope so
The first-century symbol of Christianity was an anchor, not a Cross. Christians adopted the anchor as a symbol of hope in the future because the anchor was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The message of the biblical message of the gospel teaches us how we can be ‘safe’ or ‘saved’.
You may ask why we need that safety or what we need to be saved from?
The answer is that, in reality, life without God life is hopeless, There is an absence of hope. Life does not make sense without God who is the creator, the source of all things. This may not be your world view but it makes sense of the world and everything fits when God is in the picture.
The Bible talks about people having a lack of hope
Ephesians 2:12 - 'That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world'.
Without God life has no meaning, there is no starting point, there is no end goal and we are just a random collection of molecules.
Not only does the Bible teach that this is true but we feel it to be so in the deepest parts of our being.
We need the promise of the hope because ultimately we all face death
Titus 1:2 - 'In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began'.
There is peace & joy associated with hope because we need forgiveness for wrongs committed (a clear conscience) and we long for peace.
Romans 5:1-3 - 'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience'.
Jesus Christ is the only genuine source of hope
For Christians, Christ is the unfailing hope of all who believe in him. To highlight this fact the anchor always featured on the gravestones of the first, second, and third-century believers. It symbolized the hope these believers had in God for the future.
Strangely enough, while ships have changed dramatically since ancient times, the anchor used today has pretty much remained unchanged.
In the book of Hebrews, it tells us that Jesus Christ, much like the anchor, is unchanging,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8.
Life changes from day to day, turmoil and all sorts of storms come with no warning, but Jesus Christ never changes.
You can count on him to hold you steady no matter what the storms of life throw at your boat.
He will hold you secure until the uncontrollable circumstances have calmed and the skies have cleared.
Christ has always been the anchor of hope for those who believe.
When the traumas of life shake your boat, put your hope in the eternal life offered through the anchor, Jesus Christ.
Here a clear statement from the Bible to support this claim. 'Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,' Hebrews 6:19-20.
The reason the hope can be trusted - the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Peter one of Jesus' disciples wrote in 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 3 - 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead'.
The public confession of the hope
Paul, a converted religious terrorist, wrote a significant part of the New Testament.
He had become convinced after seeing Jesus Christ in a supernatural appearance that Jesus was God, had lived on earth, died and risen from the dead.
Here are two statements he made:
- Acts 24:14-15 - 'But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.'
- Acts 23:6 - 'But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
The power associated with the hope
Hope in Jesus Christ dramatically changes lives and gives a power for life that is otherwise absent. Again let me quote the Bible:
Ephesians 1:17-23 - That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
The personal presence of the hope
The hope is felt personally and is a day to day reality.
Colossians 1:27 - To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
I could say more but I've said enough. If you want to know more please get in touch.
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