Hope Is the Anchor of Your Soul: Expect the Impossible
Dr RJ Sing, 22 min
Originally preached as “Have Faith, Don't Give Up”
Sermon outline
Through faith and patience you will inherit God's promises, so hold on to the hope of His Word as the anchor of your soul and expect the impossible.
Main text
- Hebrews 6:1-20
- Hebrews 10:35-39
- Hebrews 11:1-2
Opening
He tells the church he wants to encourage them tonight with the Word, and reads through Hebrews 6 verse by verse, linking the earth that drinks in the rain to what Sia had shared. He stops on verse 10 to assure them that God is not unrighteous to forget their labour of love: their service, tithes, offerings and sowing.
Through faith and patience inherit the promises
Verses 11 and 12 call believers not to be slothful but to follow those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. You will not get everything your heart desires in a week or even in years. Abraham patiently endured and then obtained the promise, so don't give up on the job, the marriage or the child who has gone the wrong way.
“Don't make any premature decisions to jump the boat and to give up on your faith.”
- Hebrews 6:10-15
Hope is an anchor for your soul
Faith is important, but hope is also important, because the promises, dreams, visions and prophetic words God has given you anchor your soul even when they come late or through unexpected people. If God said it, He will do it. In the kingdom there is no black, white, Indian or coloured, only one new man in Christ, and every born-again person has a right to the promises.
Illustration: A builder needs bricks, mortar and timber, and a tailor needs cloth, scissors and cotton, but when God made the universe He had only the Word. He admits he has not yet seen many of the big things God has promised him, but those promises anchor his soul.
“When God first made the universe, he had nothing to work with. All God had was the word.”
- Hebrews 6:16-20
- John 2:5
- Jeremiah 1:12
- Numbers 23:19
- Acts 16:31
- Matthew 6:33
- Galatians 3:29
- Galatians 3:28
- Colossians 3:11
- Ephesians 2:15
Expect the impossible to happen in your life
He names this as the title of the message. The natural may be screaming that it is impossible, but God specialises in impossibilities, whether it is a marriage, a relationship or finances. He cannot say how God will do it, only that He is able and will never leave nor forsake those who chase after Him.
Illustration: Moses with the Egyptians behind and the Red Sea in front, water from the rock and birds out of the sky: God showed Israel again and again that He is the God of the impossible.
“He's a specialist with impossibilities.”
- Exodus 14:21
- Exodus 17:6
- Exodus 16:13
- Hebrews 13:5
Do not throw away your confidence
Reading Hebrews 10:35 to 11:2 in the NIV, he says the pressures of life make our confidence wane, but it will be richly rewarded. Those who shrink back are destroyed, so those who do not shrink back will never be destroyed, and those who believe God in their situation will be saved in it. Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and like Elijah, a man of like passions who prayed, your prayers are heard.
Illustration: Praying just before the service, he felt strongly that the angels of God go before us, just as Abraham told his servant that the angel of the Lord would go before him to find a wife for Isaac.
“If you don't shrink back, you will never be destroyed.”
- Hebrews 10:35-39
- 1 Peter 1:23
- Genesis 24:7
- Hebrews 11:1-2
- James 5:17-18
Move your expectancy from the natural to the spiritual: hope based on the written Word
Your natural expectancy is shaped by your thoughts, emotions, hearing and sight, but God wants to lift your expectancy into the spiritual realm. The one way to make that move is hope based on the written, living Word of God. It is how God leads, sustains and communicates with you.
Illustration: The written Word is your directional signal and your GPS.
“When you have nothing else to hold onto, just hold on to the word.”
Putting it into practice
- Patiently endure in your job, your marriage and your prayers for your children.
- Hold on to the words, dreams and prophecies God has given you, even when they are slow to come.
- Expect God to do the impossible in your situation.
- Refuse to throw away your confidence or shrink back under pressure.
- When you have nothing else, hold on to the written Word of God.
Closing
Saying his time is gone, he gives the first step for moving from natural to spiritual expectancy, hope based on the written Word, and has everyone tell their neighbour not to give up hope because God is with us and for us. He asks whether they got something tonight and has the church stand and give the Lord a great hand.
Declarations he led
- Patiently endure.
- Don't lose hope.
- Expect the impossible to happen.
- Don't give up hope.
In his words
- “Don't make any premature decisions to jump the boat and to give up on your faith.”
- “When God first made the universe, he had nothing to work with. All God had was the word.”
- “He's a specialist with impossibilities.”
- “If you don't shrink back, you will never be destroyed.”
- “When you have nothing else to hold onto, just hold on to the word.”
Every scripture in this message
- Hebrews 6:1-20
- John 2:5
- Jeremiah 1:12
- Numbers 23:19
- Acts 16:31
- Matthew 6:33
- Galatians 3:29
- Galatians 3:28
- Colossians 3:11
- Ephesians 2:15
- Exodus 14:21
- Exodus 17:6
- Exodus 16:13
- Hebrews 13:5
- Hebrews 10:35-39
- 1 Peter 1:23
- Genesis 24:7
- Hebrews 11:1-2
- James 5:17-18