Christine Caine - Drop The Anchor, Part 3
Do you know how many people I tell on to God? And so sometimes, when you know, you're all awesome, but sometimes, sometimes. And so, me and God, in my quiet time, I tell him everything. I do, I tell on you to him. Have you ever felt blindsided by the waves of life? We all have moments in our lives when we face something that we just were not expecting. But we don't have to get swept up by the current. There are things we can do to keep anchored in the midst of the chaos. So there's no need to panic if you feel like you're stranded at sea right now. I'm about to tell you what to do. Let's ride these waves together. I'm Christine Caine, and I have a personal mission to Equip and Empower people just like you to connect with your God-given purpose and potential. I'm so glad that you're joining us today, let's get right into the message.
Hey, I am so excited to be back, and I'm loving this series about drop the anchor, I hope you are too. I am so glad that you have tuned in today, you are not here by accident, I believe that the Holy Spirit prompted you to just stop there on the remote control 'cause he's got a word for you today. I love this series, we're learning that in chaotic, in turbulent, in volatile times, that we can trust Jesus Christ to be our anchor for our soul. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is this hope we have as an anchor for soul both firm and secure. And we have really looked over the last couple of weeks at the fact that life is full of uncertainty, like is full of trials, bad things happen to good people, it's just the way that life is. But Jesus is our hope, that's why we could smile at the future. We don't have to wake up despondent, the joy of the Lord is our strength that we are a peculiar people because we actually look at the future and go I know it doesn't look good, naturally speaking, but our hope is in Jesus, which means we can have faith in the midst of turbulent times.
And so, if we're gonna stay attached to this anchor, we are gonna have to make sure that these links in the chain are in really good condition, because if the links in the chain, that basically determines, the anchor is not the issue, Jesus is not the issue. The issue is the chain. How are the links in our chains that are connected to Jesus? And my hope is that as we're going through this series, we discover where we might have a few weak links so that we could turn them around and we could strengthen them so that we can stay connected to Jesus. So we're gonna look at these links over the next couple of weeks, and I want you to turn with me to the book of Hebrews 10:19-25, remember, in the book of Hebrews, the writer to the Hebrews is writing to Jewish Christians. So these were people that had converted from Judaism to Christianity, and they were being persecuted for their faith.
And sometimes you think it's difficult being a Christian in this day and age, to have been a Jewish person that converted at this time, you were ostracized, you were marginalized, you were ridiculed for your faith, and a lot of us, we experience that. Either at university or at school, or in our mother's group, it's just people go you are weird. Why would you believe this stuff about Jesus? What do you mean you believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God? You mean you really believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, like really? You really believe that Mary was a virgin? But anyway, yes we do, we believe the weird stuff, that's all I'm saying, we do. But people think we're crazy for believing all of the weird stuff. And so, Hebrews 10:19, the Bible says therefore, brothers, and sisters, since we have confidence, I love this, to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. Thank God for the blood of Jesus, I always say that the most potent force on the world, you know, it's not some cruise missile, it's not some nuclear bomb.
The most potent force on the planet always was and always will be the blood of Jesus Christ. It sets people free, thank God for the blood. By the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, I love this, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. I've gotta stop myself, I could preach off every one of these points, I've just gotta tell you, this is like I'm gonna run a lap and wave a hanky right now. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. I love this, so where are our important links to the chain? Right in this passage of scripture, you're gonna see four or five of them right here, it says let us draw near.
So we've gotta learn to stay close to Jesus, let us draw near, and so I love that, let us draw near with a heart in full assurance of faith. So the fact is this is the power of the new covenant, and some of you watching this today, you may not even know this, you may have grown up like I did, where I grew up in a very, very religious culture where we actually were not encouraged in fact, I always thought that I was too bad to come close to Jesus, and it was reinforced by the people around me. You know, Christine, if you do that, God will punish you. Christine, God's not happy if you do that. And it seemed like anything that was enjoyable, God didn't like. It was like God was this cosmic killjoy. And I'm thinking why did he make us if he doesn't really like us, you know? And anything that even looked like fun, you couldn't do it.
And so, I thought that, you know, to be a Christian, you had to be a boring, dysfunctional nerd, and that you just had to wear beige all the time, and you had to have no personality, and you just had to I'm holy, I'm boring, I have had a lobotomy and because I'm a Christian. That's what I thought you had to be, because if you had any kind of personality, if you liked to have any, I mean, you could not wear cuts in your jeans because somebody might stumble over my kneecap. I mean, you know, it was amazing. People are so weird over religious things, and it was all about what you can't do. You cannot do that, and it was like you cannot have fun, you cannot do this, and we defined our Christianity by what I could not do. I'm a Christian because I don't drink and I don't smoke and I don't smile and I'm boring and I'm a nerd, yes, that's what defines me as a Christian.
I have no clue what I can do, and I'm gonna spend my whole life trying not to do those things that I really want to do because you know, apparently it's really, really bad. And so, hurry up Jesus, hurry up, I need the rapture, because I wanna have fun. Honestly, that's what people are like, and I'm like really? And you too can become a Christian and be bored like me. Like really, what is that? We got no idea what we could do. And so here is the great promise of the new covenant that we can boldly come before the throne of grace because of the blood of Jesus, I mean, in the Old Testament, you had to take all these animals and kill them and it was like really messy, it was weird what had to happen, thank God I'm a new covenant Christian. And so then Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could come boldly.
In the culture and the tradition that I grew up in, you couldn't come, you had to go through a priest. I wasn't even allowed to read the Bible, it was only the priest that had the revelation of the Bible. I was not allowed, we had to go, and he went into the holy of holies, and women especially could not even enter into that place, and yet Galatians tells us there is therefore now neither Jew nor gentile, slave or free, male or female, we can all come boldly to the throne of grace. Do you know how empowering that is? And I think more than anything, people are tormented with accusations, I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy enough, I'm not smart enough, I have blown it too much, and what we must learn is that the Bible says hey, you can draw near to him. Not because of anything that I've done, but because of what Jesus Christ has done, we can draw near to him. It is so counterintuitive to go towards someone that you think you have hurt or you have let down.
Most of us, in our natural relationships, if we feel like we've let a friend down, if we feel like we have let, sometimes if we feel like we've let ourselves down, we don't even want to go to ourselves, so we drink ourselves into oblivion, or we'll pop an extra pill, or we will just jump into bed from one person to the next, 'cause what we're trying to do is run from ourselves and numb our reality and not have to face today, and not have to face the future. A lot of the stuff that we do is because we're trying to run from either ourselves or other people, and often run from God, and the Bible says draw near. Draw near, there is no greater promise, the witness of God, Emmanuel, Christ with us, that witness of God, the fact that the scripture says he will never leave us nor forsake us, I personally believe that is the most powerful promise in the Bible, that God will never leave us, that God will never forsake us. We live in a world that feels so alone, so isolated, we are all connected 24/7, and feel totally isolated and disconnected all the time. You need to know that you don't have to go online to find God, the witness of God is right here in the Word of God, he is with you.
So sometimes, you know what? You even feel disconnected from God because you think that God's to blame for what has happened, and so you have run from God because you're blaming him, God took that person that you loved. I remember my mom, for a long time, she felt so resentful, my father died when I was 19, and my mom had so begged God to not take my dad, and they were so close, and they had such an awesome marriage. And it literally took her decades, decades, before that relationship was reconciled. And you know, she would say that she was the one that lost out from that, because God had gone nowhere. And I want you to know, you can take your frustration to God, that's what the Psalms are in the Bible for. If you read the Psalms of David, you go I can't believe you spoke to God like that, and I have found that in my moments of frustration, I run to God with it. Do you know how many people I tell on to God? And so sometimes, when you know, like you're all awesome, but sometimes, sometimes. And so, me and God, in my quiet time, I tell him everything. I do, I tell on you to him.
If you don't take it to the throne of grace, you are gonna leak like toxic poison to everyone around you. And you are gonna destroy yourself and you are gonna destroy every other relationship around you, so take it to God. So how do we draw near to him? We draw near to him primarily through his word. I want you to know that he's given us this word. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 for the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This thing is not a dead textbook. I will say this continually, 'cause the Word of God, Jesus saved my soul, the Word of God saved my mind.
So I told you about the time I found out I was adopted, well, what came out of me? The word, because everything just changed in my life, something uncertain hit, but the certain word, it counteracted that uncertainty. The truth of this word counteracts the facts around us. Have you ever seen the weather report? Man, it's a fact, but it changes every minute. Because the facts can change. My hormonal condition, it can change. But the truth changes things, and that is the difference. The truth of God's word has the power to change things. The facts change, but the truth changes things. And so the only way you counteract uncertainty is with the certain truth of the Word of God. No matter what you see with your eyes, God's word is true, and it is certain. If you stay anchored to this Word, if this chain, I would say this without a doubt, the most important link in this chain is the Word of God. That is what is going to keep you connected to that anchor more than anything else.
The Bible says, you can write these down, John 8:31-32, so Jesus said to the Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, whoa, we could just stop there. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. See, a lot of people are still in bondage after years of being a Christian because they're not abiding in the word. And so they don't know the truth. You know, if you turn on the television and watch the latest talk show, you are not gonna get the truth. If you are listening to the latest pop star, you know, I love beyonce, but she's not gonna tell you the truth, I'm just saying, you know, like the latest magazine that you're looking at your checkout counter, you know, I know it says truth, but it's not the truth. If you abide in my word, then, that's how it's linked, not if you abide on the phone with your girlfriends and gossip. If you abide in my word, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
So many Christians are still in bondage because they're not abiding in the Word of God. They're abiding in the latest television series on Netflix. I'm telling you, nothing is more important than the Word of God, and if you need to cut some other stuff out of your life to create room for abiding in the word, and it doesn't mean a verse a day keeps the devil away, I'm not talking about that kind of abiding. I'm talking about you gotta sit with this thing. You gotta abide with it. When you're connected and you're abiding, you know, I'm creating a habit in my life that there are certain times I will put an entire two hour period away because I wanna read a whole book of the Bible. From beginning, how does this go? What did the writer mean? Well you know what that means? I've gotta maybe not watch my favorite TV show. We've all got time, it's just like we've all got money. Like we all think I've got no money, but if I tell you there's a shoe sale on, it is amazing how you can create extra money, you'll eat baked beans for two weeks. You will do that, so we've all got time and money, that's not the issue, it's just what we choose to do with it, and some of us, we don't wanna abide in the word. We'd rather just abide on the sofa.
So my deal is why don't we begin to abide in the truth of the Word of God? Isaiah 40:8, one of my favorite scriptures, it says the grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God will stand together. I wonder how many wasted words you have in your life with your friends on the phone, because it's God's word that's gonna remain forever, sometimes you don't need everyone else's advice. You need the Word of God. That's what is going to happen, everything else is uncertain, this is certain. How else do we draw near? We draw near through prayer. Prayer often has such a bad rap, doesn't it? People get bored, it's like Christine, I fall asleep, and I'm telling you, please don't over complicate it. Prayer is simply talking to God.
Here is my best explanation, I love it, my friend Deborah Cobrae, she had Yonggi Cho's wife as a guest speaker at her conference, and she had prepped all of her women, she had prepped them, because we are going to learn about prayer. I mean, if anyone can pray, it's doctor Yonggi Cho, largest church on earth. He knows how to pray, he's written books on prayer, and she's waiting, she told everyone get your journals out, get your notebooks out, get your pens out, we are gonna take notes, and we are going to learn to pray. She does this huge, big introduction, this is the big moment they've been waiting for at the conference. Mrs. Cho has got one hour to speak, and so Deborah's done this big introduction, and then she gets up, Mrs. Cho, and this is her whole sermon, and she goes like this, today I'm gonna talk about prayer.
Prayer is simple, open mouth, pray. And then she got on her knees, and the whole rest of the theater, and I thought you know what? I'm gonna quote that for the rest of my life. Prayer is simple, open mouth, pray. That's it, like what we wanna do is we wanna read books on it, we want journals on it, we wanna formula. Open mouth, pray, that's it. Talk to God however it works for you. However it works for you, please do not over complicate it. I am sick and tired of all of the different plans and strategies, and you know, just pray, just talk to God. It is no more complex than that, do not be anxious for nothing. Philippians 4:6-7, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Here it is, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind in Christ. The power is not in begging, the power is not in yelling, it's not a volume issue. It's a talking-to-God issue. So open mouth and pray, whatever that thing is that is causing you anxiety, even right now, just say you know what, God? I'm gonna stop, 'cause we have so much anxiety, we have so many people medicated, so many people taking so many pills, and simply because we won't pray, and we prefer to worry. I'm not saying in every case, of course, I don't want anyone to mishear what I said. The issue is, though, a lot of us are carrying around a lot of unnecessary anxiety because we are not praying. And I have learnt, and I've learnt to do it, and to still, especially at night, the devil will make sure he comes at night, and so I've gotta do this more than anybody 'cause my mind is like a hamster wheel, it just keeps going.
So I'm like no Christine, and I'll say this scripture if I have to 100 times a day, Christine, be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, make your requests, so Christine, stop and make your requests known to God. And then I have to say and God I trust that you heard that, so I'm not gonna think about it anymore, I trust that you've heard it, because sometimes we think by me thinking about it, or me worrying about it, it means that I'm actually really concerned. As if I was controlling it through anxiety anyway. So I have to say God, I trust you, I trust you, I trust you with Nick, I trust you with my girls, I trust you with A21, I trust you.
And so finally, we draw near through worship, we draw near through the word, we draw near through prayer, and we draw near through worship. You know I've been so captivated by worship 30 years ago I walked into the Hillsong church, and of course, I was just captivated then. You know, you've gotta be very secure to be a woman part of Hillsong church and not be able to sing, because like if I sang oceans, you would all drown, so that's not going to happen. If I sung shout to the Lord, you would all cry to the Lord, so no, it's not gonna. But worship, magnifying God, making God bigger.
I still do that, you know, every little while I have to go and have a check for just my thyroid since I had the surgery. And just the power of worship, by enlarging God, I always play the song by Hillsong United, here now, the chorus, I'll play it in my car really loud, 'cause I wanna silence every other voice. And I go God, I'm gonna make you bigger, it says, and I know you're with me in this place, here now, still my heart, let your voice be all I hear now. Fix my eyes on the things that I can't see now, spirit breathe like the wind, come and have your way 'cause I know you're in this place, faith makes a fool of what makes sense and I walk into that, and I go God, no matter what the report is gonna be, I'm believing for a good report, but Jesus, I know that you are here now.
And I'll just play it on my earphones, and in the midst of whatever's going on with ultrasound machines, with people that are waiting to have chemotherapy, I'm like God, Jesus, you're here now, in the midst of all of this, you're with me, there is such power in worship. Jesus says draw near to me, that is the link in the chain, are we drawing near through the word? Are we drawing near through prayer? And are we drawing near through worship? That's gonna keep us connected to this anchor that we have for our soul, both firm and secure. Let me pray:
Father, I thank you, I thank you that because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross, because of the blood that was shed at cavalry, we have unhindered access to you. And Lord, we choose, by your grace, and because of your great love and mercy, to draw boldly before the throne of grace. There is nothing that can separate us from your love. And so father, we choose today to not run from you, but to bring every issue, every anxiety, every stress, every trial, every tribulation, every problem, every obstacle, every hurdle, every challenge, we bring it boldly before your throne of grace, and we choose to leave it at your feet and that we will be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving, we make our requests known to you and we believe for the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in this chaotic world to guard our hearts in Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen.