An Anchor of the Soul

"Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Hebrews 6:17-20

The hope of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is assured based upon the double-strong promise of God, and those who abide in Him have strong consolation which cannot be moved.  The illustration of an anchor is fitting, for it does not stop the ship from rocking on the waves.  I once worked on the U.S.S. Nimitz as a contractor and the two anchors of that immense vessel weigh 30 tonnes each!  While the ship was moored in the Coronado harbour I do not remember seeing the anchors, for they were likely submerged under the water.  What could not been seen with our eyes held the 100,000 tonne ship secure on the dock.  If you are interested to see what an anchor of the Nimitz looks like, follow this link.

The currents of the oceans are always moving, and at times great storms develop and sailors must ride them out.  Despite wind, waves and contrary current the child of God can be at rest because of the hope we have as an anchor of the soul.  Sailors drop anchor out of sight that rests on the seabed, yet through faith in Jesus who has gone into heaven He anchors our hearts there with an expectation of joining Him someday.  The massive anchors are able to hold fast an aircraft carrier, yet they are nothing compared to the God who created the heavens, earth and us.  Iron will rust and perish in sea water; the brake can fail and the anchor and chain can be lost.  In a total contrast to this God holds us fast without fail and is able to redeem us forever without the loss of a single soul who trusts in Him.

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 says, "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, 'Destroy!'"  The children of Israel celebrated the living God, the eternal God who helped them and was their refuge.  Even if it feels like we are at the mercy of a satanic tide it is a mirage, for "underneath are the everlasting arms."  Having sought refuge in the LORD, He will surely help us and bear us up.  The hope in our Saviour is both sure and steadfast, established by the eternal and true word of God.  Jesus has ascended into heaven so He is able to anchor our hopes there in Him.  How blessed we are to have a God who rides the heavens to help us and will ensure we are gathered to Himself in heavenly glory. 

Inheriting God's Promises

"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Hebrews 6:11-12

Abraham and many others in scripture are examples of those who by faith and patience inherited the sure promises of God.  God promised He would make of Abraham a great nation, yet he and his wife continued to be childless for decades.  They did what they could, but their efforts were without success.  The promise was real yet God's timing was long, and thus patient endurance with faith was the means of seeing God's word amazingly, miraculously fulfilled.  Through Abraham and his seed all nations of the earth have been blessed.

God has not given the blessing of children to all, yet all of God's immutable promises are good blessings and glorious.  Jesus gives rest for weary souls, forgiveness to those who repent, joy and perfect peace to those who trust in Christ and fruitfulness for all who abide in Him.  At the end of our lives on earth all Christians will experience eternity with God in heaven, an everlasting glorious union where the troubles and toil of this life will fade without memory.  It is required of stewards they be faithful, and while our Master tarries there is much He would have us do.  It is foolish to imagine our efforts are pointless when God promises to bring the increase.  We remain on this planet not only to do God's work, but so He can do a marvelous work to refine us.  Consider this quote from Charles Jefferson concerning pastoral ministry which can relate to all believers who know Christ as LORD:

"The shepherd grows in patience.  As long as he lives, his work makes heavy demands on his powers of endurance, but they respond to the call.  The work of a shepherd is full of interruptions, vexations, and disappointments, but these try his soul and refine it.  The precipitate hastiness of the earlier years gives way to calm deliberativeness, and the feverish irritability of youth is replaced by the cool strength of forbearance.  In working with human nature a man gets something of the patience of a mother.  He is not daunted by a score of failures.  He does not surrender to apparent defeat.  If doing a thing nineteen times is not sufficient, he is willing to do it the twentieth time.

The grace of humility is watered and unfolded by the shepherd's toil...The shepherd, working with individuals, faces failure, again and again.  As a guide he is rejected; his counsel is despised.  As a physician he is baffled; the diseases of the soul will not yield.  As a saviour he is defeated; he cannot bring back a sheep that is lost.   There is always a joy in his heart over what he achieves, but there is also always a heaviness because of what he fails to do.  'Sorrowing, yet always rejoicing'--this is a fit description of a shepherd's life.  He always is being thrown back on God.  While some men dream of speedy ending of evils, and other men trust jauntily to experiments in legislation, he knows the power of sin and realities that there is no help for the world this side of God.  His experience in fighting evil face to face brings him into the dust.  Moreover, his work is never done...After he has done a thousand things, he can think of a thousand other things still to do.  After he has done his best, he feels like confessing himself an unprofitable servant.  The shepherd's work is never done." (Jefferson, Charles Edward. The Minister as Shepherd: the Privileges and Responsibilities of Pastoral Leadership. CLC Publications, 2006. pages 136-137)

The confidence of Paul was not in the faithfulness in the people of the church of Philippi but in the faithfulness of God to work in and through them as partakers of the Gospel.  He wrote in Philippians 1:3-6, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."  Paul continued to pray for his brothers and sisters in Christ because all his confidence was in God who would bring them to completion.  Trusting people to be faithful will always expose our confidence as misplaced.  What assurance of hope we have in God, and through faith and patience in Him we will inherit the promises.

The Ministry of One

The desire to reach the masses with the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ has a downside:  the neglect of pastoral ministry to the individual.  The ability to broadcast the word of God through periodicals, books, airwaves, television and internet has resulted in a deluge of information on demand.  Knowledge alone, however, is no substitute for the personal need for all believers to be shepherded by Jesus and one another.  This interpersonal connection one with another is a critical necessity which allows the body of Christ to function in a healthy and fruitful manner.

In The Minister as Shepherd by Charles Jefferson, this point is well-illustrated by medical practice in his day:

"The modern physician is nothing if not individualistic.  Physicians never deal with men in crowds.  'One patient at a time'--that is the rule in all hospitals throughout the world.  Each patient has his own chart at the head of his bed.  The temperature of his body, the beat of his pulse, and the number of his respirations are carefully noted.  Each patient has his own diet, his special remedies, and his particular kind of nursing.  It is this sleepless vigilance, this jealous guardianship, this minuteness of observation and delicate accuracy of treatment of the individual man which has filled the modern world with miracles and given the physicians of the body their unparalleled prestige.  It is not by spectacular and scenic methods that the death rate of great cities is reduced by the faithful nursing of one patient, the loving care of the one baby, who without this care and nursing would have died.

The same policy adopted in our churches would bring equally astonishing results.  Under our present system vast volumes of energy go to waste.  Christian men and women are filled with energy, but in many cases the energy turns no wheels.  This is in every church a Niagra of force which creates neither heat nor light.  There is in every church desert land which would blossom as a rose if it were irrigated by an engineer's skill.  There are swamps which could be drained if only the necessary knowledge and genius were at hand...When we see that the work of the Christian church is work on the individual, it is then that no parish, however limited in territory, seems really small.  There is an unimaginable amount of work to be done in every church.  Young men ought not to feel that their life is thrown away because they cannot preach great sermons before a crowd.  Get rid of the oratorical conception of the ministry and put in its place the pastoral idea.  You ought not to turn your back upon a church because it seems dull and dead...Never believe that there is a church on the earth, however desolate or demon-possessed, that cannot be made to blossom with the flowers of paradise under the summer warmth created by a shepherd's care." (Jefferson, Charles Edward. The Minister as Shepherd: the Privileges and Responsibilities of Pastoral Leadership. CLC Publications, 2006. pages 80-83)

Christians should not be deterred from this pastoral approach to ministry and service because others see it it as unnecessary or outdated because of their wealth of knowledge.  Does not the Good Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, know far better what the needs of His sheep are and how to meet them?  He has chosen to connect us to one another in the Body of Christ where each member and joint supplies strength and is governed by His love one for another.  Let us be those who intercede on behalf of individuals at God's throne room of grace rather than the general masses.  We are to invest our efforts to minister to the one person God has set before us rather than lamenting over the masses who remain unreached.  The unreached will be reached as we are faithful to minister to the one, and an example is how Jesus reached all Asia through Paul.  We will not succeed by looking for a potential Paul but by looking to Jesus who turns a Saul into Paul.  If we are willing and content to be shepherded by Jesus Christ, we will be led to do God's will wherever he guides us.

Christians Have a KING

Allow me to set the scene early in Saul's reign:  the children of Israel demanded Samuel give them a king like the other nations, and God chose Saul to be anointed.  This humble man of Benjamin was literally head and shoulders taller than any man in Israel, and the people shouted for joy at his coronation:  "God save the king!"  Though a king had been chosen and crowned in Israel, life went back to normal.  Everyone returned to their houses including Saul, and men whose hearts God touched accompanied him.  What happened next was shocking.

1 Samuel 11:1-4 reads, "Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you." ² And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel." ³ Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you." ⁴ So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept."  The aggression, threat and insult of Nahash the Ammonite is no surprise, but the people of Jabesh Gilead who (along with all Israel) asked for a king for the express purpose of fighting their battles immediately forgot they had one!

The men of Jabesh Gilead offered to serve Nahash the Ammonite if he would make a covenant with them--even though it was a terrible covenant which involved gouging out their right eyes.  Then they asked for time to send messengers "to all the territory of Israel."  They were not even confident there was anyone who would fight for them or save them when they had a king.  Finally, at the hearing of the message the people in Saul's village wept in hopelessness and despair.  When the word from the messengers reached Saul, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and took immediate action to muster the nation to battle to fight for Jabesh Gilead.  By the end of the following day, the Ammonites were slain and scattered so not even two men remained together.

If the children of Israel could forget they had a king they could see with their eyes, it is evident Christians can forget they have a king Jesus Christ the anointed Messiah who remains unseen.  The Holy Spirit who came upon Saul to gather the people to war rested upon Jesus Christ the KING OF KINGS who defeated sin, Satan and death.  Jesus is not in a distant land where messengers must travel, for Hebrews 4:16 exhorts all those who are subject to Christ:  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Beloved believer, do you feel hopeless like the men of Jabesh Gilead?  Are you willing to serve sin that reproaches us and our LORD?  Do you feel there is no one who can save you or redeem the difficulty you face?  Do your eyes pour with tears in despair and hoplessness for others as if there is no hope for them?

Jesus Christ is our king and the KING OF KINGS!  Perhaps the conflict you face now will be an opportunity to renew the lordship and sovereignty of Jesus over your life.  That is what happened when Saul gathered the people and defeated the Ammonites.  Samuel and the people returned with Saul to Mizpeh and "renewed" the kingdom there.  For about a year the people had lived life like they did not have a king, and I daresay there are Christians who have gone even longer without the full realisation of Christ's saving power, grace, love, forgiveness and deliverance.  What a Saviour we have in our LORD Jesus!  What a KING!  Let us praise and thank Him for His goodness to us, and worship Him in the beauty of holiness.