Below are some notes I took from Charles Stanley’s recent broadcast…Anchor for the Storms. Be sure to click on the link to In Touch Ministries…to hear the entire message.
When the storms of life come your way…how do you respond? Who do you turn to? Who do you start believing in?
Who helps you when the waves start to beat against your life? When the clouds all about you turn dark? When the rains begin to pour down, you become discouraged, you don’t know where to turn. How do you respond in the storms of life?
A ship anchored and anchored well can withstand a great beating. If it’s not anchored, it will be blown this way and that way…crashes wrecks and ruins.
There is an anchor for your life and mine…and it will keep us from being blown, tossed, tumbled and worn out. An anchor that you can trust in, always trust in. Never have to worry about that anchor proving unfaithful, unreliable, but always anchors you in…no matter what the storm may be.
When the storms of life come your way…how do you respond? Who do you turn to? Who do you start believing in?
Who helps you when the waves start to beat against your life? When the clouds all about you turn dark? When the rains begin to pour down, you become discouraged, you don’t know where to turn. How do you respond in the storms of life?
A ship anchored and anchored well can withstand a great beating. If it’s not anchored, it will be blown this way and that way…crashes wrecks and ruins.
There is an anchor for your life and mine…and it will keep us from being blown, tossed, tumbled and worn out. An anchor that you can trust in, always trust in. Never have to worry about that anchor proving unfaithful, unreliable, but always anchors you in…no matter what the storm may be.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said,
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence,
So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Now here is the anchor that will see you through, that will stabilize you, secure you through any and every storm, heartache and burden and hardship and trouble and trial…every form of persecution…every disappointment…every disillusion…everything that you and I face that is difficult.
Here’s the anchor. It is the awareness that our Savior, the immovable Rock of all Ages, is always the same. The same yesterday, the same today and the same forever. There is nothing in all the world that will anchor you and stabilize and secure you in times of difficulty and heartache like being very consciously aware that my Savior who is on the inside of me. He who has anchored me is not from without, where I can break loose from the mooring, but rather I am anchored from within. Anchored to the Rock of Ages, the unchangeable Christ, who is always the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Paul tells us that Jesus Christ “Is the same”, not similar to, not close to, not a shadow of, not a variation of. But Jesus Christ is the same. What he was when he walked the roads of Palestine 2000 years ago is what he is today. And what is today, is what he is going to be tomorrow, and the next day and the next day and all the days thereafter, and here after and forever.
Jesus Christ never changes. Everything else is in a state of change. Everything about you, everything surrounding you. Only one thing is as it always was and always shall be…and that is the living Lord Jesus Christ who lives on the inside of you. Jesus Christ is the only thing in existence in this world that has not, does not, will not, and can not ever change under any circumstances. Everything else is going to change.
What are you anchored to?
If you anchor yourself to anything that is in a state of change, you don’t know where it’s going to take you. You don’t know what the end result is going to be.
Jesus Christ what he was yesterday, he will be today and he’ll be the same tomorrow. He is the only anchor that you can bet your present and your future on. Whatever he said, whatever he says, whatever he shall say it will never change.
Look at Jesus in his person…what was he like when he walked here 2000 years ago? When he walked this earth he was a Christ of love. Loving everybody he met…that hasn’t changed. He was willing to forgive anyone who every came to him, no matter what…that hasn’t changed. He was a Christ of mercy…always reaching out compassionately. Helping those who are in need…that hasn’t changed. He was a Christ willing to confront those living in sin…that hasn’t changed. He was the Christ who was calling those to follow him…that hasn’t changed. He was the Christ who knew all men…that hasn’t changed. Everything about Jesus that was true in that day is true today. The way he responded to people then, he responds today. Character, personality and attributes…all the same.
Jesus Christ…he came to anchor us unto himself. In order that you and I through every storm of life, trial, tribulation, every heartache, every burden…we might know that there is one whom we know…who never changes. We don’t have to wonder or question. We know exactly what he says. I will never leave you, I will never abandon you, I will never forsake you, I will never leave you, I will never leave you destitute, I will never leave you in need. I am the all sufficient Christ. I am the one who has anchored you unto myself and I never change.
No storm can push the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing can batter the Son of God.
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