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5. An Anchor for Our Soul

Hebrews 2:1-4 — Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Hebrews 6:17, 18,19 — 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Introduction

  • In Hebrews 6 we are given an anchor for our hope: THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD's COUNSEL.
  • In Hebrews 2, We are given a warning is remind us of the risk of truths that have transformed us of having them slip away from us -- being out of mind, out of active effect.
  • What are some things spoken at the first by the Lord, and by God's own witness with signs, wonders, divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost?

I. SURE ANCHOR: Testimonies of Stedfastness

  • stedfast: STABLE; FIRM; FORCE, SURE

  • immutability unchanging; unalterable.

  • It is a neglecting of our salvation to not give earnest head to the word so overwhelming attested as STEDFAST -- UNCHANGING.

  • a. vs. 2,3 this is not just angels, but this is our LORD --- God. --- He sealed his testimony with a cross and a resurrection.

  • b. vs.3 confirmed by them that heard him ("Paul said", "I agree more with James", "men's writings..." .. the testimony of those that were there! Peter, Paul, etc got it from Jesus.)

  • c. v.4 God also bore witness both with signs and wonders, divers miracls and gifts of the Holy Ghost

II. SURE WORDS:

  1. John 1:43 Follow Me
  2. John 2:7 Fill the waterpots
  3. 2:16 make not my fathers house a house of merchandise
  4. John 3:6 must be born again
  5. 4 13 14 ... thirst agaun unless

III. SURING UP

  • Remind ourselves daily:

2 Peter 1:12 — Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

  • make light of; regard not

  • Read the Scriptures, Memorize teh Scriptures, Meditate Scriptures, Seek daily to LIVE the Scriptures.

Conclusion: Words of Life

ILLUSTRATION: WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE written in 1874 by Philip bliss. The Story As a child raised in a log cabin in rural Pennsylvania, Philip Bliss loved music. The only musical instrument he owned was a flute his father had whittled for him from his cane. Philip hoped to buy a cheap violin, so he picked baskets of berries from the swamps and sold them door-to-door. Hearing the music from a piano coming from one house, Philip went to the door and listened ... until the pianist told the barefoot 10-year-old to go away. 2 decades later, Philip was directing the music in an evangelistic crusade led by Dwight L. Moody. Philip had become well-known for his singing voic and for the gospel songs he wrote. When Moody’s brother-in-law, Fleming H. Revell, was launching a new religious magazine, The Words of Life, he asked Philip to write a song for the first issue. Revell suggested both the title for the song, and the text – John 6:67,68. In these verses, Jesus sees many of His followers walking away, and He asks His core of 12: “You do not want to also go away, do you?” Peter answers on behalf of the group: “Lord, to whom should we go? Only You have the words of life.”

As Revell requested, Philip wrote this gospel song: “Wonderful Words of Life”. A few years later, he wrote these words: “I carried that song through two seasons of evangelis­tic work, ne­ver think­ing it pos­sessed much mer­it, or that it had the ele­ment of spe­cial use­ful­ness, par­ti­cu­lar­ly for so­lo pur­pos­es. It oc­curred to me to try it one day dur­ing the cam­paign in New Ha­ven, [Con­nec­ti­cut, 1878,] and, with the help of Mrs. Steb­bins, we sang it as a du­et. To our sur­prise the song was re­ceived with the great­est en­thu­si­asm and from that time on to the close of the meet­ings was the fa­vo­rite of all the hymns used. As an il­lus­tra­tion of the hold it got up­on the peo­ple all about that sect­ion of the count­ry, I re­ceived a let­ter from the Sec­re­ta­ry of the Con­nec­ti­cut State Sun­day School As­so­ci­a­tion of­fer­ing me what seemed an ab­surd­ly large sum of mon­ey, if I would, with Mrs. Steb­bins, come to the State Con­ven­tion and sing that one song.”

Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life, let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. ...

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