Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we'll be looking at a very important conversation in this piece: “The Anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith”.
Our righteousness is of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, it is not of works. We belong to God by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith; we believe! Those that come to God must believe; that is the prerequisite. In Hebrews chapter 11:6, the Bible makes us to understand that without Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, it is impossible to please God. Meaning that, there is no other way; there is no shortcut. If Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is not there, you can't please God.
So, we are looking at the anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, and we're going to start our read from the Book of Hebrews. “The anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith”; as we journey with the Lord Jesus, how are we supposed to live? What is the instruction of God for us in living our lives?
Hebrews chapter 6:18-19, “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. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil”.
How many of us have fled from sin and the devil to Jesus? We fled to Jesus because in Him we have hope. He said we have fled for refuge to lay hold; there is something we must lay hold of, which is hope.
Verse 19 helps us understand that Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is not a joke. The reason why things happen to you and you did not commit suicide is because you have hope. There are some people that half of the things that have happened to you in life, have not happened to them and they have ended it. They say to themselves, what are we living for? But there is hope, you have hope, and that hope is the reason you are living, and the Bible calls that hope; the anchor.
So, what is anchor? Anchor means something that keeps hold. There is something that keeps you in trouble; there is something that keeps you when everything is not working. There must be something that will keep you when it looks as if the things you are expecting are not coming. There is something that must keep you when God has said something to you and you are not seeing it, there must be something that keeps hold; it is called the anchor of the soul.
In the soul of every man, you have your emotion, you have your will, and you have your intellect. When logically nothing is making sense, there must be something that holds your soul. When emotionally you are not feeling like anything is working the way you want it: you're not just joyful, you are not just glad; there must be something that must hold that soul, to keep it in check.
Another word for hold is to be firmly fixed. There must be something that must keep you fixed in the midst of all that is happening to you; it is the anchor: and the anchor is your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. He said this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, it is both sure and steadfast, and which enters; Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is what enters. This anchor, this hope is the one that enters the Presence behind the veil; that enters the very Presence of God.
Anytime you show up before God, God does not see you; what God sees is your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. From that Scripture, the Bible makes us understand that what we will carry, that will enable us enter behind the veil is our Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. The Bible says that we should with boldness, confidence; enter into the presence of God before the throne of grace that we might obtain. So, if you are not entering with this anchor, you cannot obtain. So, the anchor, the substance; what comes on you that God sees, that gives you the privilege to enter behind the veil is your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith.
That's why every time in Scripture, there is always a reference back to Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, that without Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, not without you, but without Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. Without Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, it is impossible: meaning no way, no road; you can’t pass. What you need from God is in God, but what is the gate pass? What will give you the privilege to enter is your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. So, if you don't have Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, you are going nowhere. Another word for anchor is to hold in place. What holds you and I in place, is Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith.
Why is this Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith so important? Why do we keep emphasizing on it? I want us to see the prayer of Jesus in Luke chapter 22:31-32, “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
This is not just about Simon; it is about you and I. The Bible says that Satan is going like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. Do you think he doesn't know your address? Please, let's not deceive ourselves, saying, the devil cannot see me. If he knew the address of Job, God Himself, when the devil came, asked him, He said, devil, where are you coming from? What have you been up to? He said, God, I've been going back and forth, to and fro all the face of the earth.
So, as he's going back and forth, going to and fro, do you think he did not see you? He has seen you. How did we know? God now said, of all the people on the earth, have you considered My servant Job, that there is no man like him on the earth? The devil responded and said to God, I know him; he is very rich and comfortable. In fact, I know where his children used to hold parties. I know all the houses of his children. I know where all his investments are. God, I know so much about him; I've checked him out. How did we know he was saying that to God? He said God, is it not that you have made a hedge around him. When you see the word of the devil, you will know that he considered everything. He said, if I can't touch his wife, I can't touch his children; can I touch his investment? Can I touch his servants? Can I touch people around him, his friends?
He said, have you not made an edge around him all about? Meaning, all about, I looked for an entry into his life; I didn't find because You God, I saw You there. And once I see You there, I back off: because you will see God where you see a man or a woman of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith; because God responds to Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith.
Let’s see the response of Jesus to Simon. He said Simon! Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, Satan is considering your life; Satan is busy calculating and gathering data about your life. He said, but I have prayed for you. And what was the prayer of Jesus? His prayer for Peter was, that your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith should not fail you. Not that the devil will not know your address. If the important issue was the devil not to know his address, Jesus would have said, I have prayed that the devil will not be able to locate you.
He said but I have prayed (see the substance of the prayer of Jesus) that your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith should not fail; because as long as your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is alive, as long as your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is active, even though he desires you, he cannot have you. He said I have prayed that your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith should not fail and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.
Jesus said men always ought to pray and not to faint. So, there is nothing like prayer and prayerlessness. If you are not praying, you are fainting. So, if you are fainting, then the adversary; the devil can lurk around you. Prayer is a defense. You are building a wall of defense around you. He said after you have returned to Me, because every time we are in Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith; we are returned back to God because that's our original state. In Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, is your original state. When you are in Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, you are returned back to God. When you are fainting, you are not in God, because every man of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is in God. He said when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.
But, see the important prayer of Jesus; He said the devil is considering you. Simon! Simon! The devil is interested in your life, but I have prayed for you that your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith will not fail. Jesus was saying to him that his Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the anchor of his soul. His Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the anchor of his relationship with Him. The Bible says the just shall live by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. Outside Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, the just is dead.
The reason Jesus said if you have returned to Me is because, He knows when you are in Him; nothing can touch you. The Bible says your life is hid in Christ; in God by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. I want us to see Galatians chapter 2:20, Apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.
The life of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the anchor. The life I now live, I used to have an old life that had no anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. But now I have a new life; anchored by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. He said the life I now live is anchored by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in the Son of God. People have Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith for many things, but there is a kind of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith you must have. And that's what Apostle Paul was saying; having Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in the Son of God. He said, I live by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in the Son of God, who would loved me and gave Himself for me.
The reason I live now is because I've chosen to live differently. Until we choose to live differently, we cannot access the things that God has for us. To live differently is to live in Christ. That is where the Scripture was saying to us in Hebrews chapter six; he said it is sure and steadfast. He said this anchor is sure and steadfast. God said I have set in Zion, a stone for a foundation. He said He is the chief cornerstone; He is a sure stone.
When we talk about the anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, that is what the kingdom of God is all about; it is the way of the kingdom. Isaiah chapter 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”. We talked about anchor meaning firmly fixed. Anybody whose mind is firmly fixed on God, the Bible says He will keep him in perfect peace, because he trusts in God. Do we trust in God? What will make the difference between us and other people in the world is our trust in God.
The Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. Directing your path becomes the business of God because you have done what is required of you. There are some things that are not prayer points. He said He will keep in perfect peace whose mind are stayed on Him; not the man that prayed, not the man that went to the mountain, not the woman that went to the mountain for seven days: He will keep in perfect peace whose mind are stayed on God.
You can be praying and your mind is not stayed on God. You can be fasting and your mind is not stayed on God; your mind is on six o'clock, your mind is on three o'clock. Your mind must be stayed on God! So, even when you are not fasting and your mind is stayed on God; God said I will keep in perfect peace. It is not a prayer point; it is as a result of your understanding of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. If you are firmly fixed on God, God said, it will be My business to keep you in perfect peace.
I want to show us another Scripture, Isaiah chapter 28:16, “Therefore thus says the Lord, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily”.
Whoever believes in this stone: this stone is Christ Jesus, and whoever believes in Him will not act hastily. You won’t just be living your life anyhow. You won't just be moving the way you like, that after all, it is my life, I can live it the way I like, no! Your focus should be on God. What is God saying to me? And that's why that Scripture in Proverbs is very important. Trust in the LORD with all your heart. When you have given God all, is there anything left? And Lean not on your own understanding. You say to yourself, if I can calculate it, in the next five years; if I can do a bachelor’s and I do a master's, and I do a PhD. Ask some of us, all the calculations have come to not. Just like Apostle Paul said, I've counted everything as dung. Why? There is One who I am fixing my mind on. He is the One that is ordering my steps; because you cannot fix your mind on God and God will not order your steps. You cannot fix your mind on God and God will not speak to you.
Has your mind been stayed on Him? Is your mind on Him? Or you are thinking about a hundred and one things. If your mind is not stayed on God, then you won’t have perfect peace. Suddenly, when they go to tribunal and it looks as if Tinubu wants to lose, suddenly you have lost your peace; why? Your mind is stayed there. Nobody can dethrone God, nobody can remove God; God does not have term. So, when your mind is stayed on Him, you will have perfect peace because He has a perfect reign and He has a perfect throne.
Isaiah chapter 33:6, “Wisdom and Knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the LORD is His treasure”. If you read from verse five, he was talking about a man that will be filled and he said wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your time. If you look at that Scripture carefully, you will see that he said the fear of the LORD is His treasure. What does that mean? The Bible says the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. What does it mean to fear God? It means that you are in awe of God. God is the most important thing to you. That's why Jesus said in Matthew, He says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and every other thing shall be added. What is Jesus saying? Make God your priority. When you make God your priority, the Bible says wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and the strength of salvation; because the fear of God is your treasure. You don't joke with it.
When they ask you, what is your plan for these children? You said this first one, will be a lawyer. The second one is a doctor, and the third one is an engineer because they must be calling me Mama Doctor, Mama Engineer, you are missing it. The fear of the LORD is not your treasure; if the fear of the LORD is your treasure, the anchor of your soul must be Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. That these children, I am to them as a custodian and caretaker; God is the One that owns them, whatever God wants to do with their lives; let Him do it. What are you doing? In essence, you are making sure that those children are under the shadow of the Almighty. And whatever God owns, the devil is not crazy enough to touch it.
Before the devil could touch Job, God gave permission. In the madness of the devil, he knew that God was the method for his sanity. When he comes to God, he dares not; because he knows he will get burnt. Why? God shields and protects His own. That's why the Bible says, this anchor is the one that goes into the very presence of God behind the veil. The Bible says who will ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? The one that has clean hands, and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully: this is the man that can stand in His holy place. You can ascend into the hill of the LORD, by Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. The anchor of our soul is Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. Jesus said, if you have Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, be thou removed and cast into the sea and He said you will have whatsoever you say.
I want to show us a Scripture in Psalm chapter 62:5-6, “My soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved”. See the secret of David, my soul wait silently for God alone, no one else. I don’t have option elsewhere; God alone. In Christ alone, my hope is found; that is Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. You don’t say I have Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith; my Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is 50%, there's nothing like that. Your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith must be in God alone 100%. And that's why when God was giving the children of Israel commandment, the first commandment is that serve the LORD God only; don't bow to any graven image or any idol. God alone you will serve. For your God is a jealous God.
He said, my soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. Where is your expectation coming from? My expectation is from Him; will God come down and do it for you? No! He will use men but you will know it's coming from Him. The Bible says the hearts of men are in the hands of the Lord, like the river of water. God directs the hearts of men wherever He wills. If somebody gives you something, and he is always giving you, don't think the person is good; it is God that is good to you. Someone called Jesus; good Master, and Jesus said to the man, no one is good but God. Jesus was trying to pass a very important message across to us. Let your expectation be from Him; don’t expect anything from a mortal man.
The Bible says vain is the help of man. Vain! Meaning empty; it amounts to nothing: but when God helps you, you are helped. David said I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord; my expectation is from Him. That's Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith! That's what your soul must anchor on. I only want what God can give me; I don't want what God cannot give to me. After I bow before God, I don't want to bow before men. After I have sang to God in worship, I don't want to worship men. Your expectation is from Him only. He is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; for this reason, I shall not be moved.
The anchor of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith! Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith gives us confidence as children of God. God said it; I believe it and that settles it. My future is bright because God said it. My tomorrow is sure because God said it. I believe it, and that is my testimony. So, find rest in God. The reason why we run helter-skelter when something happens is that we are not fixed on God. The Bible says, looking unto Jesus, the author, and the finisher of our Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. So, when your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith starts, let it start in Jesus. When your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith will end, let it end in Jesus: looking unto Him; the sure and steadfast foundation.
The woman with twelve years affliction, the Bible says she has spent all; she had gone to many physicians, but no help. Then she made Jesus the author and the finisher of her Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. She made up her mind to touch the hem of Jesus’s garment for her healing. If we're going to start and end it with Christ, we will indeed see the hand of God in our lives. Jesus is the secret. Jesus is the reason; He is our advantage. Find rest in God! It will look as if everything wants to capsize like that of the disciples when they were in the boat. The Bible says and the wind was boisterous. There was great storm on the Sea. It was as if the boat was going to capsize, but there was Jesus in the boat. And they went to Him, Master do you care that we perish? And Jesus woke up and rebuked the storm, and there was a great calm.
Our lives will experience a great calm, if we are found in Jesus. The devil as a way of throwing storms, but Jesus is the Master of the storm. They looked at Him and say, who is this man, that even the wind obeyed Him? Christ Jesus is our secret. No matter how the situation is, when Jesus shows up; He is the Master. There is no mountain too great; there is no situation too difficult that when the Master steps in, things don't come under control. That is why we must look to Him. Find rest in God!
I want to show us a Scripture in Lamentations chapter 3:21-26, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your Faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”.
The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Is your soul saying something? Your soul will express your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. When you see people who are in problem and they say, they are finished; that is their Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith. Your soul will express your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith! He said, the Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore, I hope in Him. David was saying in Psalm, he said bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me; bless His holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and do not forget all His benefits. What was he saying to his soul? He was saying to his intellect; don’t forget. You can be quick to forget, but I'm reminding you. I'm speaking back to you. Don't forget His benefits! It is the Lord that forgave your sins, that healed you of your infirmities, He's the One that satisfy your mouth with good things; and he started reminding his soul: that is why Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith requires confession; because when you confess, you are not just confessing to the air; you are confessing also to your soul, so that your soul will pick lesson and your soul will remember. Why did God do miracles for the children of Israel and He told them to do in memorials? It is so that they don't forget. It is in human to forget. And that is why, as believer, you must be full of confessing the Word; communicating your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith, let the communication of your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith be effectual.
He said, therefore I hope in Him, the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. The result you want to see in your life is the salvation of the Lord; but what is the posture you must have? You must wait quietly. The Bible says, in quietness and confidence; that lies your strength. Our strength against the devil is in our quietness and confidence in God.
That see, God might not be coming now, but God is never late: that God is going to come right on time and the glory is going to go to Him; that I know that this situation is like that of Lazarus, and that's why we have stories in the Bible that helps us to communicate our Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith effectively. He said, this situation is like the situation of Lazarus that was sick, and Jesus did not show up, and he died. And after three days, he was long buried, Jesus showed up and on the fourth day Jesus went to the grave, and He called Lazarus forth. And He said, I am the resurrection and the life.
So, my confidence is in Him. I will wait quietly! The devil wants you to make noise, so he creates noise around you; because when you make noise, nothing makes sense. The Bible says be still and know that He is God. God was going to show Elijah a very strong example. And He said I'm going to show up, and first there was a wild wind effects, and Bible says, God was not in the wild wind. There was fire, God was not in the fire; but there came a still small voice and that was where God was. God is usually not in the noise. If something is happening around your life, and there is a storm raging: know that God is not in it, it is the devil making noise. So, what do you need to do? You will introduce the Master into the situation, by your stillness. In quietness and confidence, lies your strength. It's not a time to run helter-skelter.
When there was storm in that boat, Jesus was sleeping, because He knew in quietness and confidence is His strength. When the devil brings noise around you, be quiet. He said, it is good that one should hope and wait quietly. Wait quietly! That's where the anchor of your soul is. You are firmly fixed. You are immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. And you are looking at how the devil is roaring around like a lion; he is only seeking whom he would devour. If you will give in to that noise, he would devour you. Don't give in to the noise, be quiet! And let your confidence remain unshaken that God, My LORD is the Alpha and the Omega. There is nothing greater than Him. There is nothing that has appeared before or will appear after that God is not a Master of; He is the Master of the Universe; He is the Monarch of the universe and there is nothing impossible for Him.
I want us to see Colossians chapter 2:5, “For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in Christ”. This is what we have being called to. We must have a steadfastness of Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in Christ. What is steadfastness? You are not moving. Yesterday, you had Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in Christ. Today, you had Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in Christ. Tomorrow, you still have Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith in Christ. Forever, your Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is in Christ; because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. If He did it for those in the Bible, He did it for people around you; know that you are next, He will do it for you. Believe Him!!
Hebrews chapter 11:1 made us to understand, he said, Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen. Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the substance, and the substance is the anchor. Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the substance; of your walk with God: Faith on CentreNDL”>Faith is the substance! What are you believing God for? What have you been trusting God for? Can we remain steadfast, fixed; you are not moving. God said it, I believe it! And that settles it.
Let it be unto me, according to your word. Blessed is he and she that believes, for there shall be a performance. That performance is in different times for different people, but there shall be a performance. Wait patiently on the LORD!
