FOUR ANCHORS OF LIFE
Human souls, like ships, are riding upon the “sea of life,” and often face storms in the form of trials and tribulations.

Introduction
Acts 27--The journey to Rome on ships.
The sailors were trying their best to save the ship, but it was for naught.
Paul had warned them not to attempt the journey, but they rejected his advise (v.11).
Later Paul had to say “I told you so, but you would not listen(v.10,21).
276 persons on this boat(v.37). Big boat.
Acts 27:29
“And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak”.
The whole journey was in peril.
They were battling winter storms on the sea, and needed to seek shelter several times.
Let us now look at four anchors for the protection of our souls.

Faith
The first of these anchors is an unfaltering faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ.
We must have faith in God: Hebrews 11:6
We must also have faith in Christ: John. 20:30-31
But why is faith so important? Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8-9
What kind of faith must we have? James 2:26
When faith is as it should be, there will be complete obedience that will anchor our souls to Christ.

Prayer
Another anchor that will help us in the hour of trial is prayer
Jesus wants us to pray: Luke 18:1
Early Christians were a praying people: Acts 2:42, 12:1-5
Why? Along with worship, Bible study, and fellowship, prayer is a source of daily renewal: 2 Corinthians 4:16
Thus, the New Testament teaches us the importance of prayer: Philippians 4:6-7, James 5:16.
The old saying is certainly true that “Prayer is the power that moves the Hand that moves the universe.”
And it helps to keep us anchored to the Lord.

A Good Conscience
Still another anchor which we must not discard or overlook is a good conscience
God demands that we have a good conscience: 2 Timothy 1:19.
However, there’s something necessary for us to have a good conscience, and that’s fulfilling our duty or service to God
Thus, we should seek to restore the erring: Galatians 6:1
We also need to look for opportunities to teach those who are lost: 2 Timothy 2:2
And we ought to help the needy as we have ability and opportunity: James 1:27.
We must continually rely upon God’s word to tell us what to do, and having learned the truth, we must follow it with a good conscience to keep ourselves anchored to God.

Hope
The final anchor is a hope which is confident that God will keep His promises.
Hope is truly an anchor: Hebrews 6:18-19
What is our hope? Colossians 1:5, Titus 1:2
This hope is very important to us: Romans 8:24-25
But what is the basis for our hope? 1 Peter 1:3-5.
The only basis for this hope is Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God who rose from the dead. (Edward Mote, 1836)

Conclusion
As we voyage upon the seas of life, God has given us these anchors to keep us safely moored to Him. (Priscilla J. Owens, 1882)
Have you checked your anchors to make sure that they’re in place and ready for any time of trouble?
Someday, before your voyage is ended, you will probably need each of them.

By Carey Scott from an outline by Jim Sasser

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