Keep Watch
“There are those who are trying to hang shutters on the house before the foundation is laid.”
- Pastor Quinton “Foundations - Building Blocks of the Faith (Week 1)”
At some point soon, this series will come to a close... Then what?
We MUST keep going!
You do not NEGLECT your home and do nothing with it, just because the foundation and the structure were completed.
Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
There will be times we need to DROP AN ANCHOR in order to ATTEND to something.
As on a boat, the need to drop an anchor could be for many reasons:
Emergency maintenance or repair
Taking shelter from impending bad weather or rough seas
Needing to rest
Taking on or unloading passengers or cargo
Waiting for a specific time, such as tide change or a weather window
When you are “At Anchor,” keep these in mind:
- Remember to KEEP WATCH
- Remember it’s meant to be TEMPORARY
What you NEGLECT, DIMINISHES
What you DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO, CHANGES WITHOUT YOU.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV For the Word of God is LIVING and active, sharper than any two-edged Sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
We must know His Word and how it is speaking to our lives, so we will not have HARD HEARTS… but ones that KNOW HIM AND TRUST HIM.
Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 6:11-12 NLT Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
Hebrews 6:18-20 NLT So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us…
Hebrews 6:18-20 NLT So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us…
When you are “At Anchor,” keep these in mind:
- Remember to KEEP WATCH
- Remember it’s meant to be TEMPORARY
Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
What is the anchor we drop and then hold to? IT’S JESUS!
We are called to LOVE HIM and OTHERS, but we are not given COMPLETE SIGHT…
THAT is WHY WE MUST WATCH… because we can’t see everything!
We don’t have COMPLETE SIGHT, we don’t have PERFECT PERSPECTIVE.
Jesus told the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to "WATCH and PRAY!"
TRUST YOUR ANCHOR
TRUST JESUS
KEEP PRAYING
KEEP WATCHING
God hasn’t called us to sit… He’s called us to go.