Part 3 “Anchors For A Stable Life”
James 1:5 -12
Intro – welcome back to our series in the book of James… …please open your Bibles to chapter 1…
-this week James continues this thought, but from the perspective of a wave of the sea being blown and tossed by the wind…
There’s some great high seas drama in the Bible, with the story of Jonah…but also in the book of Acts, in chapter 27 where the story is told of Paul’s voyage by ship to Rome to stand trial before Caesar…Paul is a prisoner being escorted by a Roman centurion…
-it was a months long voyage, during which they encountered a storm of hurricane force winds called the Northeaster…
-the ship carrying Paul and 275 others was driven along by this intense storm…taking such a severe battering that they simply gave way to the wind…and in a desperate attempt to save lives and the ship, the sailors not only tossed extra cargo overboard, but passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together…
-after 14 days and nights of this relentless storm, the sailors sensed they were nearing land, so to not run aground, they dropped four anchors…these anchors held the ship in place against the pounding wind and waves…
…until they spotted land, cut the anchors to make a run for it, but ended up getting stuck on a sandbar and the whole ship was broken apart…
-miraculously, everyone on board made it to shore, not one life was lost and none of Paul’s fellow prisoners escaped…
Anchors
Now it’s the part about the anchors that got my attention, especially in light of today’s passage in James…because when the anchors were dropped the ship held fast, it stayed put, it didn’t get pushed around by the wind and waves but rather became stable in the midst of a stormy sea…
Now with that picture in mind, let’s read verses 5 to 12…and I want you to think about our lives being like a ship on a stormy ocean…and some of you are really on a stormy ocean these days…not to mention how stormy this world is getting…it’s like the wind and waves are getting stronger and knocking us all around harder than ever…
…does this describe you these days? do you need to find some stability?…well, God provides some anchors for us to drop down, by faith, so we are not broken apart by the storms of life…
Prayer… (look for at least three anchors that God provides that helps us, by faith, find stability in the midst of the storm…) read…
I First Anchor: Single-minded faith in God’s character
vv 5-6
-the first faith anchor God provides that brings stability to a life tossed around by the storms of life is single-minded faith in God’s character…as opposed to being double-minded as v.8 talks about…
-v. 6 says that when you ask God for wisdom, you must believe and not doubt. But believe what? That’s the key question. Some people understand this to mean that you have to believe really hard that you’ll get what you ask for…
…that the key is in the strength of your believing, like making a wish before blowing out the candles on a birthday cake…”I really believe that I’m going to get this or this or this…”
But what we are to believe and not doubt is the character of God…and this is our first anchor…that He is generous to all, trustworthy, reliable, powerful…
…that He does what He promises…and like we saw last week, that He is good, loving and sovereign…
-one of the faith anchors God gives us so we don’t get blown all over the place like a ship in a storm, is a single-minded, focused belief in God’s character, no matter how bad the storm looks…
Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Some Christians are double-minded when it comes to believing in God’s character: they doubt that God will give them what they need…or they think they’re not deserving of God’s love and help…or they question God’s goodness as to why He is allowing these hard things to happen…
So what a double-minded person does is to have a back-up plan: if God doesn’t come through, then there’s always other places to go for help… “can He do it? I’m sure. Will He do it? I’m not sure. Should I trust Him? I suppose. But what if He doesn’t come through? Yes? No?”
…double-minded…a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind…a ship being driven along with no anchor…unstable and susceptible to all sorts of dangers…
We in the western world are at such a disadvantage when it comes to developing single-minded, focused faith in God’s ability…because, frankly, we don’t need it…we don’t need God…we’ve got a back-up plan and we know it: universal health care, social assistance, government programs…so many more back-ups…
-these are good things…I’m not suggesting these things are wrong and that Christians shouldn’t go see a doctor or receive help from government agencies…but our world is far removed from the world in which James was writing…where these persecuted and impoverished Christians did not have a back-up plan…either God was going to come through, or they wouldn’t make it…
-and that’s a faith muscle we rarely need to flex…
-but it’s a reality still today for many followers of Jesus all around the world…
The good news is we can develop a single-minded faith in God here in Canada…by focusing on God’s character and taking intentional steps to stretch our faith muscles…
eg. Story of dad and 15 year old daughter…(sheet)
Listen, drop an anchor here this morning of single-minded faith in the character of God…that’s going to keep you from being blown all over the place…it’s a matter of getting to know and trust the character of God…which happens when He proves Himself faithful in small ways and big ways…
II Second Anchor: A Humble Spirit vv.9-11
-the second faith anchor God provides that brings stability to a life tossed around by the storms of life is a humble spirit…as opposed to our pride and security being in our wealth or lack thereof…
Many of the scattered believers to whom James was writing became economically poor…in which it’s easy to feel ashamed and humiliated…
eg I know what that’s like…grew up on social assistance…our family was on welfare…lived in a rundown house that I was embarrassed to bring friends to…
-but despite that, James urges these struggling believers to take pride in their high position, in other words, their exalted status as a child of God with all the blessings and gifts and riches and value and eternal rewards which that brings…
And then James presents the other side of the principle, that the materially rich should take pride in their humiliation…in other words, the fact that they’re just the same as any poor person in the sight of God…that wealth doesn’t make them better and more important and more secure…
…because wealth doesn’t last and it can’t bring ultimate satisfaction and it doesn’t offer any spiritual help…
Acc to James, both the poor and rich are exactly alike. Neither the lack of material wealth or the abundance of it is of any ultimate importance.
What is of ultimate importance is a loving, trusting relationship with our Heavenly Father who calls us His children…and gives all of His children spiritual wealth and eternal blessing.
That’s called a humble spirit, for both poor and rich…a humility of spirit that comes from knowing who we are in Christ… and how blessed we are and how undeserving we are…how rich we are simply because we belong to Christ…
Phil 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
…that’s a humble spirit…and that’s one of the faith anchors God wants us to have so we don’t get blown all over the place like a ship in a storm…so when times are prosperous, we’re happy and when times are lean, we’re miserable…
With a humble spirit, a poor person can focus not on his earthly poverty, but on his spiritual riches in Christ. With a humble spirit, a rich person can focus not on his earthly riches but on his true, spiritual riches in Christ…
Let’s drop the anchor of a humble spirit here this morning…by confessing what really matters…that you belong to Christ…
III Third Anchor: A Loving Heart v. 12
-the third and final anchor from our passage that brings stability to a life tossed around by the storms of life is a loving heart.
I know, a loving heart? Sounds strange eh? Doesn’t this sound too emotional and subjective to be an anchor for a storm-tossed life?
-how closely did you read v.12? Let’s read it again… Not only is the persevering believer declared blessed by enduring the test…and not only does that steadfast believer receive the crown of life…but all this is promised to the person who… loves the Lord. “those who love Him…”
-I believe that James is giving us one of the defining characteristics of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ…a person who loves Him…a genuine Christian isn’t just someone who at some point made a profession of faith in Christ…(although that’s important)…isn’t someone who attends church regularly…and even helps out in church…or who’s been baptized and joined the church membership (all good things)…
-a genuine believer in Christ is someone who truly loves God…who has experienced God’s love for them and who has God’s love living in them and His love pouring out of them for other people…
-a person who is so grateful to God for their salvation that they cannot help but feel it in their hearts…a person who has fallen deeply in love with Jesus because of Who He is and what He has done for us and continues to do for us…
I Jn 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Our love for God isn’t a merely subjective thing because it is based on something totally objective – namely God’s love for us shown to us by His death on the cross…
I Jn 4:19 We love (God) because he first loved us.
So rather than a heart of love for God being mere sentimentality, or just for those mushy, touchy-feely types, it can be an anchor for your life that will keep you stable and firmly fixed on Jesus when life wants to blow you in all sorts of directions…
I mean, think about it: what will keep you from choosing to sin secretly when no one else is looking? your love for God.
What will keep you on the straight and narrow when all the other people are asking you to join them in something you know is harmful to your soul?
What will motivate you to be generous and sacrificial for someone in need?
What will enable you to forgive a person who has deeply hurt you?
A loving heart for God is an anchor that you can drop this morning…by just remembering God’s love for you…that He loves you and has forgiven you when you didn’t deserve it and couldn’t earn it…
Conclusion (Lana come and play)
-back to Paul’s ship in the storm from Acts 27…there’s some imagery there I want you to remember:
1) passed ropes under the ship to hold it together Acts 27:17
-God the Father is holding you together by wrapping His loving arms around you…
2) threw excess cargo overboard…to lighten the ship 27:18-19
-don’t hesitate to do that in your life – get rid of the clutter and extra stuff that distracts you and takes up room that God would love to fill…
3) cut the ropes that held the lifeboat 27:32
-because some sailors tried to escape…
-get rid of your escape plan…your way out…your back-up plan if God doesn’t come through…face the hard thing, deal with it directly, don’t look for the easy way out…drop an anchor in God’s ability to get you through…
Dear friends, the storm will pass…the seas will calm…you will get through this…you will come up stronger and wiser on the other end…God has promised to protect and deliver you…
…till then, drop those anchors that are themselves anchored in
• God’s trustworthy character
• who God has made you in Christ (your identity)
• the love God has for you
Prayer and Worship