Baptist Church we're gonna go ahead and get started this morning if you would
find a seat turn to our hundred is officially December gotta break out the
Christmas songs 420 there's a song in the him number 420 420 there's a song
in the air 420 will sing there on the first you again for another day pray
that this is not a petition or something that we pray without thinking about it
that we are truly grateful for our church and our opportunity to gather
together and worship you I just pray that you'd be with us for the service
that everything would be done decently and in order and that you'd incline
your ear to us as we sing out praises to you these things we pray in Jesus name
amen all right for our next him this morning turn if you would would to 422
thou didst leave thy throne him number 422 422 thou didst leave thy throne for
22 on the first family with us from Texas good to see you guys I miss you
glad you're doing well in Texas on the front is our Bible memory verse Hebrews
chapter 6 verse 17 getting close to the end there you'll also see on the front
is our updated contact information our new website is live it's really nice
thank you again to all those software developers that worked hard on that it
looks really really good on the inside is our service times listed Sunday
morning at 1030 Sunday evening at 430 and our Wednesday evening Bible study
at 7 o'clock through the book of 1st Samuel our soul winning times are all
listed there and all those do meet here at the church building nursing home
ministry schedules listed there and just make note there is no service today they
did cancel that for today but as far as I know it should be picking back up on
December 8th our year-to-date statistics for soul winning is there you could see
the month of November was a great month of soul winning great job and thank you
to all that work hard out preaching the gospel and just encourage everyone even
though it's cold to keep it up throughout the winter you know I know
it's cold but people are still dying and going to hell and it's our job to make
sure that we save them from the fire so please do keep going soul winning on the
right is our list of expecting ladies please be in prayer for the Reed family
for their expecting baby and our upcoming events are listed there December
9th we're gonna go Christmas caroling that's gonna meet here at 6 30 p.m. and
then we're gonna caravan together to a nice neighborhood nearby and we'll go
Christmas caroling December 20th is going to be the ladies Christmas party
that's gonna be here at the church and I'll put the time in there pretty quick
because it's coming up sooner rather than later December 21st is our
Christmas soul winning push that's gonna be a Saturday soul winning rally but
we're gonna cater some food and coffee for that morning so we'll start eating
at 9 and we'll start the rally at 10 o'clock looking forward to that
December 31st is gonna be our New Year's Eve party we're gonna have that's gonna
be also our service for the week so we're not gonna have a Wednesday night
service it's gonna be Tuesday that's gonna be a men's preaching night
starting at 7 o'clock p.m. there's a sign-up sheet in the back if you'd like
to preach just please write your name and what topic you're preaching on and
we will have an immense preaching night after that we'll have dinner catered and
we will also just have a time of fellowship and games and fun and you're
feel free to stay till midnight bring in the new year here at church it's a great
way to start the year and if you got young kids I also understand if you
don't want to do that I'm not sure yet if I will but that option is open to you
guys if you want to give online there is a QR code there brings you to our
website on the back is our prayer list please keep everyone in prayer a couple
new additions this week on there and please if you have any prayer requests as
usual email the church I'd be happy to add that for you that's gonna be it for
announcements this morning let's go and go to our third song all right for our
third hymn this morning turn if you would to 424 oh come all ye faithful
424 424 oh come all ye faithful we'll sing there on the first in your Bibles to
Hebrews chapter number six Hebrews chapter number six Hebrews chapter
number six verse number one the Bible says therefore leaving the principles of
the doctrine of Christ let us go on unto perfection not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God of the doctrine
of baptisms and of the laying on of hands and of resurrection of the dead
and of eternal judgment and this we will we do if God permit for it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the
heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good
word of God and the powers of the world to come if they shall fall away to renew
them again unto repentance seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God
afresh and put him to an open shame for the earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is
dressed receiveth blessing from God but that which beareth thorns and briars is
rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned but beloved we are
persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation though
we thus speak for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
labor of love which ye have showed toward his name in that ye have ministered
to the saints and do minister and we desire that every one of you do show the
same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end that ye be not
slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises for when God made promise to Abraham because he could swear by no
greater he swear by himself saying surely blessing I will bless thee and
multiplying I will multiply thee and so after he had patiently endured he
obtained the promise for men verily swear by the greater and an oath for
confirmation is to them an end of all strife wherein God willing more
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel
confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things in which it was
impossible for God to lie we might have a strong consolation who have fled for
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which an interest into
that within the veil whether the forerunner is for us entered even Jesus
made in high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek let's pray dear
man all right well we are in Hebrews chapter 6 which hopefully you know by
now that this is the theme chapter of our church anchor Baptist Church and
read verse number 19 this is our theme verse here it says which hope we have as
an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which entereth into that
within the veil and you know we're in an exciting time right now times of
transition can always bring excitement and of course last week we transitioned
from steadfast Baptist Church to anchor Baptist Church this is an independent
Baptist Church and this morning I'd like to preach a sermon about our new church
and kind of talk about why I named this church anchor Baptist Church and really
it was for a couple different reasons one was for a sentimental reason I'll
explain that to you first you know read that verse again it says which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and in 2017 I moved to
Vancouver Washington to be a part of sure foundation Baptist Church which if
you were here last week pastor Aaron Thompson's the pastor of that church he
preached the evening service for us and you know what I loved my time at sure
foundation Baptist Church I learned a lot I went soul winning made some great
friends and really grew in the Lord being under pastor Aaron Thompson and I
appreciate all the things that he taught me and I love that church and I think
that this verse kind of can pay respect to him and the fact that you know no one
is a self-made man no church is a self-made church there's people that
have invested into all of us and we should love and respect the people that
do that in our lives also says and steadfast and of course in 2020 I moved
to steadfast Baptist Church to be on staff for pastor Shelley and I was there
until August of this year and again some of the best years of my life were at
steadfast Baptist Church I learned a ton from pastor Shelley seeing him be
steadfast truly through persecution and it was just an absolutely invaluable
experience for me and so that's a reason why I wanted to name this church that is
because we have an anchor that's sure and steadfast and even though pastor
Thompson's not my pastor anymore I don't go to sure foundation pastor
Shelley's not our pastor anymore we don't go to steadfast Baptist Church yet
this church still has a sure foundation the same sure foundation in Washington
the Lord Jesus Christ and this church may not be steadfast Baptist Church but
this is still a steadfast church and we still love and appreciate those men and
you know what I still love and appreciate my friends and I don't turn
on my friends I respect the men that train me and taught me things and I'm
not gonna just trash them and throw them under the bus because that's what a
crappy person does go to look at verse number 10 the title my sermon this
morning is we have an anchor we have an anchor let's go through a little bit of
this chapter it's really important we understand this chapter especially being
that this is our theme chapter for our church so let's break this down a little
bit Hebrews 6 verse 10 it says for God is not unrighteous to forget your work
and labor of love which he have showed toward his name in that you have
ministered to the Saints and do minister you know that's a good motivation for us
to serve God is the fact that God is watching God sees everything and God
does not forget your work and labor of love let me tell you something about
serving Jesus Christ it's a lot of work you know being saved is easy it's like
drinking a glass of water it's like walking through a door it's like eating
a piece of bread but if you want to be a disciple that's gonna take a lot of
work but God is not unrighteous he's not like an unrighteous employer that's
just putting you to slave labor and not rewarding you and not you know
appreciating your work God sees our work and he's not unrighteous to forget
that work verse 11 says and we desire that every one of you do show the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end that ye be not slothful
but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises so now
we see the desire of this author which I believe is the Apostle Paul and he's
expressing his desire for this group of Christians what is the thing that he
desires well first it says that we would show all diligence to the full
assurance of hope unto the end see if you're saved you already have the
assurance of hope the Lord Jesus Christ I mean if you're saved you have you are
assured that Jesus is God you have hope that he died on the cross that he was
buried that he rose again and you're fully assured of that but what we need
to do is not just have that hope but show diligence unto that hope unto the
end that's not just believing that's doing works and that's doing works your
whole life unto the end then it says how do we show that diligence it says
this by not being slothful but following the godly example of Christians that
come before us see that is the desire of the author in Hebrews 6 is that you
would take that hope that you have and you would show full diligence unto the
end of your life how do you do that by not being slothful and if you are gonna
be someone who's truly anchored if you want to identify with this term anchor
anchor Baptist Church you have to be someone that is not slothful verse 13
says for when God made promise to Abraham so now he's gonna bring up an
example of one of those godly men we should look to says because he could
swear by no greater he swear by himself saying surely blessing I will bless the
and multiplying I will multiply thee and so after he had patiently endured he
obtained the promise go to keep your place there and go to Genesis 21 and
let's remind ourselves of this story that this is referring to of Abraham
because of course God did make a promise to Abraham right his wife was
barren for most of their life but God promised Abraham to give him his son
Isaac but once he fulfilled that promise God asked Abraham to sacrifice
his son a very big deal there look at Genesis 22 verse 1 says and it came to
pass after these things that God to tempt Abraham and said unto him Abraham
and he said behold here am I and he said take now thy son thine only son Isaac
whom thou lovest and get thee into land of Moriah and offer him there a burnt
offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of and Abraham
rose early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men
with him and Isaac his son and clave the wood for the burnt offering and rose up
and went unto the place of which God had told him then on the third day
Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off and Abraham said unto his
young men abide ye here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder and
worship and come again to you and Abraham took the wood of the burnt
offering and laid it upon Isaac his son and he took the fire in his hand and a
knife and they went both of them together and Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father and said my father and he said here am I my son and he said behold
the fire in the wood but where is the lamb for a burnt offering and Abraham
said my God my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so
they went both of them together and of course this is a really emotional story
to think about that you have been waiting for a child your whole life your
wife has been barren and finally God gives you that son that you wanted and
then all of a sudden God tells you to go sacrifice your son that's asking a lot
isn't it and that talks and you know in the New Testament Jesus says that if you
want to be his disciple you have to forsake all and follow him and Abraham
is an example of a man that was willing to do that he was willing to sacrifice
his son and we're not gonna read the whole story for sake of time but in the
story you know he gets the knife he gets ready to sacrifice his son and the angel
of the Lord calls out to Abraham and tells him to not do it that now God has
seen his faith God knows that Abraham now is willing to do anything that God
asks of him and that's why in Hebrews 6 when he's bringing up the examples of
people who through faith and patience inherit the promises are people like
Abraham people that were willing to lay it all in the line for the Lord to do
anything that God asks and you know recently someone told me of a preacher
that said well Abraham was not willing to sacrifice or Abraham was willing to
sacrifice his son Isaac but I never would but let me tell you something
that's not the type of people that God is looking for today God is looking for
the type of people that are willing to forsake all and follow the Lord Jesus
Christ whatever he asks of us whatever his word commands we should be the
people that are ready and willing to obey God go back to Hebrews chapter 6
Hebrews 6 you know God doesn't give us examples like this so that we could look
at this story and say well that was that was the wrong thing to do no
actually God was pleased with this and God even says in the New Testament look
towards people like this as your example of people who inherit the promises
through faith and patience Hebrews 6 verse 16 says for men verily
swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all
strife he's saying when men get together and they're making an agreement and
they swear to each other then that ends the debate for a lot of people if
someone just says hey I swear I'm gonna do this for a lot of people that's just
the end of the conversation verse 17 says wherein God willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise that's us the immutability of his counsel
confirmed it by an oath so here's something we could anchor our souls to
is the fact that you know what's more sure than men's oaths is God's oaths see
when man makes an oath to you for a lot of people that's the end of all strife
that's the end of the conversation they believe that end of story but guess what
they could still lie to you they could still break their oath they could still
break their promises but God he wanted to confirm the immutability of his
counsel to us the heirs of promise and so he confirmed it by an oath that's an
oath you could actually trust him verse 18 says that by two immutable things in
which it was impossible for God to lie we might have a strong consolation who
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us he gives us two
immutable things two unchanging things for us to be consoled by for us to be
comforted by what is it's the fact that God promised that's number one and
number two God can't lie and so this is something that's just an iron clad
guarantee that we could anchor our souls in because God cannot lie then it
says those who are saved have fled refuge to take hold on this hope right
and that's us we've fled for refuge in salvation believing on the Lord Jesus
Christ now it's gonna talk more about this hope it says verse 19 which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which entereth into
that within the veil see what is an anchor an anchor something that keeps
you grounded an anchor is something that keeps you stable if you're in a ship in a storm what do
they do they drop that anchor so that the storm isn't blowing them off course isn't you know blowing
them all over the place on the sea when you drop that anchor it's sure it's steadfast you're not
moving and this hope that the bible is talking about the bible saying it's an anchor of our
souls it's something that we can hang on to and it's sure meaning that it's a fact it's a known
thing it's not going to fail you and it's steadfast it's going to endure it's not going to give up
it's not going to fail then it says that this hope it says which entereth into that within the
veil here's the interesting thing about this hope is that this hope has entered into that within the
veil you want to know what that's talking about this is talking about a person this hope that
we have as the anchor of our soul is not some just abstract concept of just hope like obama
you know hope and change that's not what this is talking about this hope has actually entered
into that within the veil this hope is actually alive in heaven right now look at verse 20
whither the forerunner is for us entered even jesus made in high priest forever after the order
of milk hesedek you want to know what the anchor of our soul is it's the lord
jesus christ number one this morning we have an anchor in the lord jesus christ that's why i
named this church anchor baptist church because we have an anchor today and guess what it's a
person it's the lord jesus christ and he is the supreme he is the preeminent he is the most
important thing in this universe he is the forerunner that's gone before us into heaven into
that within the veil and because of that we have hope today a real hope a sure and steadfast hope
go to hebrews 13 flip the page there hebrews 13 i want to be anchored to the lord jesus christ
primarily foremost that is what we want to be anchored to why hebrews 13 eight says this jesus
christ the same yesterday and today and forever see one of the things that often annoys people is
that life is constantly changing right the only thing that's constant is that things are changing
that's a that's a truth in our life and sometimes we're going through periods of life where things
are good and periods of life where things are bad when our health is good when things are bad when
our marriage is good when our marriage is bad when our finances are good when our finances are bad
but here is the anchor of our souls the lord jesus christ why because jesus christ the same
yesterday today and forever that's something that you could actually hang on to and hold on to in
your life that when you're going through the storms of life you could drop that anchor and
hang on to the lord jesus christ go to first timothy chapter one first timothy chapter one
first timothy chapter one verse one paul an apostle of jesus christ by the commandment of
god our savior and lord jesus christ which is our hope you know i find it interesting that when paul
is writing to timothy before he even gives him any of his instruction before he gives him any
of his doctrine he starts off his letter saying this jesus christ is our hope why because that
is the foundation before anything else in life that is what you have to understand and believe
for anything else in the christian life to work you have to realize that jesus christ is our hope
that everything in this universe hinges upon the lord jesus christ go to first corinthians 15 first
corinthians 15 first corinthians chapter 15 the great resurrection chapter if you want to start
reading verse 12 paul says this he says now if christ be preached that he rose from the dead
how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead but if there be no
resurrection of the dead then is christ not risen and if christ be not risen then is our
preaching vein and your faith is also vain paul saying look if jesus wasn't who he said he was
if jesus didn't do what he said that he did then all of our preaching is completely meaningless
and our our faith our trust our hope in this anchor would be completely meaningless if
jesus didn't actually rise again from the dead but the flip side of that is that if he is who
he said he was if he did what he said he did then he can be the anchor of our souls why because
he's god in the flesh that's why verse 15 says yay and we are found false witnesses of god because
we have testified of god that he raised up christ whom we raise not up if so be that the dead rise
not for if the dead rise not then is not christ raised and if christ be not raised your faith
is vain you are yet in your sins he's saying look if jesus didn't actually die and raise again
from the dead then that would make us all false prophets because that's what we're teaching people
and isn't that what we teach people as well we go to the door and we explain to them the gospel
what is the gospel it's the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ and we're trying
to tell people that hey you can have that full assurance of hope you can have that anchor of the
soul if you actually believe that this happened if you actually trust that this was sufficient
to take you to heaven not trust in yourselves but guess what if this didn't happen then that's
completely vain that's completely meaningless and that's what a lot of people think today
a lot of people who don't believe in jesus think that what we're doing today is meaningless a waste
of time a waste of money tax the churches you know they think this is all just a joke they think it's
vain verse 18 says and they also which are fallen asleep in christ are perished if in this life only
we have hope in christ we are of all men most miserable paul saying if if jesus didn't actually
die and raise rise again from the dead then we are the most miserable people on earth why because
you know the worldly mentality out there is that you only live once and because you only live once
you should just make the most of this life that you have right now and in your 20s you should be
out there living it up and fornicating and drinking alcohol and partying why because this is the only
life you got so you might as well have as much fun as possible and you might as well just try to get
as rich as you can and make as much money as you can and take as many vacations as you can
and just be lazy and care about yourself and serve yourself why because that's the only
life that you have yet here's men the apostles that are sacrificing their lives for Jesus Christ
that are going out working tirelessly skipping meals getting beaten getting thrown in jail
getting mocked being hated by the world being the off scouring of the earth for what if Jesus
didn't die again he's saying we'd be of all men most miserable and you know those of you that do
a lot of work in the ministry you're sacrificing a lot of your time and you know for me I work two
jobs why would I be doing that if Jesus didn't rise again from the dead why would I be sacrificing
so much time and effort we would be of all men most miserable right the world would look at us
and say you're just wasting your life but if Jesus was who he said he was things change look
at verse 55 it says oh death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy victory the sting of death
is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory
through our lord Jesus Christ therefore now that's that's a very important word right there
this was the theme verse of steadfast baptist church and it starts with the therefore you have
to understand the chapter to understand the power of verse 58 and the bible this whole chapter is
talking about the fact that Jesus did actually rise again from the dead he actually is who he
said he was he actually did what he said he did and because of that look at verse 58 therefore
my beloved brethren be ye steadfast you know what that is that's being anchored right there
unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord for as much as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the lord see he plays this theoretical thought experiment saying well if
jesus didn't rise again then all of this is meaningless and we are of all men most miserable
but here's the thing he actually did raise again from the dead he is alive in heaven today and
because of that we need to be steadfast because of that we need to be anchored and because of that
our work is not in vain in the lord why do all this work why be anchor baptist church because
of the lord jesus christ our anchor go to matthew chapter 14 matthew chapter number 14 when i think
of anchor baptist church when i think of the word anchor i always think about this story of jesus
walking on the sea because it's a you know maritime story look at verse 25 it says in
matthew 14 and in the fourth watch of the night jesus went unto them walking on the sea and when
the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were troubled saying it is a spirit and they cried out
for fear i have a feeling some of us might be troubled if we saw that at the time too a little
you know just what is this jesus walking on the sea it's not something you'd expect but verse 27
says but straightway jesus spake unto them saying be of good cheer it is i be not afraid and peter
answered him and said lord if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water i love peter's attitude
he's like i want in on this this is pretty cool like why not just ask you asking you shall receive
why not just ask jesus if i just walk on the water with him verse 29 and he said come when peter was
come down out of the ship he walked on the water to go to jesus and i think sometimes in life we
probably feel like peter where it just feels like things are going great it feels like we're walking
on water with jesus christ and let me tell you what if you're doing the christian life right there
should be times where you feel like that it's not just all suffering and pain yes god has called us
to those things oftentimes but a lot of times you know you wake up in the morning and you read the
sweet honey of god's word and it's so refreshing it's so encouraging that you feel like you're
walking on water with jesus christ there's times in life where it feels like that when god gives
you a spouse it feels like you're walking on water when god gives you a child it feels like
you're walking on water when god gives you great friends in the faith and a great church to go to
you could feel like that spiritual high like you're walking on water with jesus christ
but look at verse 30 but when he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid and beginning to sink
he cried saying lord save me see then there's other times in our lives where the wind comes
where that oklahoma tornado comes and feels like it just destroyed everything in your house
and everything in your life and there's nothing standing sometimes you may come to a point in
your life where you feel like this sometimes you can come to a point in your life where you
have a tragedy and you lose a child you could have something happen where you know your friends
forsake you people lie about you you're persecuted and it feels like the winds are boisterous around
you and during those times people are often tempted to take their eyes off of jesus and you know what
they do they begin to sink and a ship that is you know not structurally sound during a storm
is going to start to sink right verse 31 and immediately jesus remember that's the anchor
stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him oh thou of little faith wherefore didst
thou doubt and when they were come into the ship the wind ceased and they that were in the ship
came and worshiped him saying of a truth thou art the son of god and you know whenever we do go
through those times in life or through those times as a church and the winds are boisterous and the
storms are beating we have to remember not to be of little faith but to remember that that anchor
is there for us and that anchor is sure and steadfast and we though we are weak though we
often fail though we're not sure we're not steadfast in the flesh you know what we have an anchor that
is that we could always hold on to it doesn't matter what storms of life you're going through
that anchor is stronger than all the storms that anchor is the underground tornado shelter that
will save you okay that is what jesus does for us go to axe chapter number 20 axe chapter 20
now someone in life who was anchored his whole life was the apostle paul this man was steadfast
this man was anchored and in axe chapter 20 he's giving kind of a farewell speech to the
elders at ephesus and it says in verse 16 for paul had determined to sail by ephesus because
he would not spend the time in asia for he hasted if it were possible for him to be at jerusalem the
day of pentecost and from my latest he sent to ephesus and called the elders of the church
and when they were come to him he said unto them you know from the first day that i came into asia
after what manner i have been with you at all seasons serving the lord with all humility of
mind and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying and weight of the jews
and how i kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but have showed you and have taught you
publicly and from house to house testifying both to the jews and also to the greeks repentance
toward god and faith toward our lord jesus christ and now behold i go bound in the spirit
unto jerusalem notice these these next words not knowing the things that shall befall me there
save that the holy ghost witnesseth in every city saying that bonds and afflictions abide me think
about the great faith that the apostle paul has here when he says hey i'm going to jerusalem and
i don't know the things that are going to befall me there except i know this that in every city i
go to you know it's waiting for me there bonds and afflictions now how many people today if you
signed them up for a missions trip and you said hey i just want to let you know it's an ironclad
guarantee that if you go on this missions trip you're going to get people saved you're going to
do great works for god you're going to turn the world upside down for jesus christ but you will be
in bonds you'll get arrested and you'll be afflicted how many people would still knowingly go
through with that paul knew that he said i don't know what's gonna befall me there except for these
negative things but notice his attitude verse 24 but none of these things move me he says i don't
care i'm still doing it anyways i'm still gonna go preach the gospel why neither count on my life
dear unto myself so that i might finish my course with joy and the ministry which i have received
of the lord jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of god he says hey i don't care what's coming
my way i know that persecutions and bonds and afflictions await me but i received something
from jesus christ and that's all that matters that's what he looked for he said i don't count
my life dear unto myself i don't care what i want in the flesh i don't care what the apostle paul
wants to do with his life because i was given a job from the lord jesus christ and that's what
mattered to him and guess what us in this room we've been given a job by the lord jesus christ
the bible talks about how we are ambassadors for christ we have received the ministry of
reconciliation you know it should keep you anchored during the storms of life during the
problems of life is knowing that you've received something from jesus christ you've received
something from the god that entered into that which it within the veil who's in heaven today
go to hebrews 1 i'll read for you galatians 2 20 says i am crucified with christ nevertheless i
live yet not i but christ liveth in me and the life which i now live in the flesh i live by the
faith of the son of god who loved me and gave himself for me you know many christians cannot
say that verse truly in their hearts today that they truly live by the faith of the son of god
of course every single christian is saved and they live spiritually by the faith of the son of god
but you know what we should also allow our lives our physical lives to be crucified with christ
not count our our lives dear unto ourselves but actually be willing to walk by faith why because
of the lord jesus christ number one we have an anchor in the lord jesus christ number two
we have an anchor in the king james bible look at hebers 1 verse 1 it says god who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets see the bible saying that
in old times especially in the old testament god spake in a variety of different ways to a
variety of different people you see god speaking to samuel when he's a child in a dream samuel
samuel and he's like oh behold thy servant heareth and he comes to the man of god eli
god's speaking to him that way you see god open the mouth of the ass to rebuke baleam right you
see uh belshazzar where god writes with the hand of a man on the wall meanie meanie teakle you
farson that's a diverse way that god doesn't speak to us today right i mean we see all these
different stories in the old testament joseph getting dreams from god but today god has given
us his word in a different way look at verse two it says half in these last days spoken unto us
by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds see god
today has spoken us through his son jesus christ what you have to understand is that the word of
god and jesus christ these are inseparable things some people think that these are two different
concepts that oh you got to worship jesus but you guys can't make an idol out of the word of god
you guys take the word of god too seriously you guys worship the bible well let's stay there let
me read for you john 1 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was
god verse 14 and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of
the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth see the bible teaches that jesus christ is
the word of god he is the word of god in flesh and the bible says forever oh lord thy word is
settled in heaven and guess what jesus christ has eternally existed as god but of course he came to
earth and that's why we celebrate christmas look at verse three it says who who being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person and notice this upholding all things by the word
of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high see the truth is is that if you believe that jesus christ is our anchor you also have to
believe that the word of god is our anchor because the bible teaches us that jesus is the word of god
and that all things are upheld by the word of his power the reason why this world exists
the reason why this universe exists the reason why things like love exists the reason why this
church exists is because it's all being upheld by the word of his power and at any time jesus christ
could just burn this earth at any time jesus christ could take us home to heaven at any time
by the word of god he can open up the earth and cause you know wicked people to fall in that god
can do anything by the power of his word and the bible says that all things are upheld by the word
of his power you know what that means is that we could anchor to this because all things hinge on
the bible all things are upheld by the bible the success of this church is going to be dependent
upon the word of his power the success of your marriage of your child rearing of your finances
of your life it's all upheld by the word of his power and we have to prioritize the bible and have
it as an anchor in our life and i'm so sick and tired of these weak new evangelical liberal
fake christians that want to tell us you guys make an idol out of scripture you guys overemphasize
scripture how can you overemphasize jesus how can you make an idol of the words of jesus christ no
you're just a fake christian is what you are you're just a false prophet that would try to
disconnect jesus christ from the word of god like andy stanley where he said that the bible's not
our final authority jesus is our final authority translation he doesn't believe that jesus is the
word of god look at hebrus chapter number four or i'm sorry first peter one i'm going to read for
you hebrus four first peter one while i read hebrus 412 the bible says for the word of god
is quick meaning alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and morrow and as a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart see if if this isn't the words of jesus christ if the word of
god isn't god then why does the bible say that it's quick why does the bible say that it's alive
see i know of no other book today that's alive i mean does anyone have any books at their house
that are alive okay if you are you're probably doing one of these weird drugs that oklahomans
are into stop smoking the pot okay no no no this book is actually alive why because jesus christ is
alive and his words are settled in heaven and this is the word of god before us today first peter one
two or 23 says being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of god which
liveth and abideth forever see the bible teaches that we're born again we're saved by the incorruptible
word of god many people today don't believe that this bible is perfect they think that it has been
corrupted and probably because many of them do have a corrupted bible it's called the niv it's
called the esv it's called the new king james but god's true word is not corrupted verse 24 says for
all flesh is grass is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass the grass withereth
and the flower thereof falleth away but the word of the lord endureth forever sounds like something
you can anchor to and this is the word by which the gospels preached unto you so we see that the
bible is a sure thing it's something we can anchor to but not just the bible in a vague sense i
believe that the king james version of the english bible is that anchor we can anchor our souls to
now i'm going to read from you from our doctrinal statement you can check it out on our website but
i'll just read it for you says we believe that the king james bible is the preserved perfectly
preserved word of god in english and has been faithfully translated from the originally inspired
hebrew greek and aramaic one does not need to learn the original biblical languages
to understand the true meaning of scripture since the king james bible is a perfectly preserved
translation of the originally inspired words of god it is also inspired we reject the doctrine
of double inspiration we reject all modern versions of the bible now i'm going to go to
a few verses to prove why i believe this go to psalm chapter number 12 psalm 12 see you have
people today making a big fuss and even a lot of king james onlyists will say that the king james
bible is not inspired because inspired is being given by the breath of god they would say well
only the original authors were inspired but they will still say that this is the perfectly preserved
word of god but hold on a second if they were inspired and this was perfectly preserved of the
inspired words of god then this is inspired now of course we don't believe that god re-inspired
the king james translators we don't believe that god gave the king james translators special
revelation or that he you know controlled their tongue or controlled their pen or anything like
that but we do believe that the king james bible is the perfectly preserved inspired word of god
look at psalm 12 verse 6 says the words of the lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace
of earth purified seven times thou shalt keep them oh lord thou shalt preserve them from this
generation forever the bible teaches that it is god's responsibility to preserve his word not
man's because today a lot of people struggle with the idea of how could we after all these
thousands of years how could we possibly have a perfect translation when men are translating it
men are involved in the work of translation men make mistakes well it's because the bible says
that he will preserve those words if god just left it up to us of course we would screw it up
but since it's his responsibility god said hey i got this i'm gonna make sure to preserve these
words from this generation and forever and here's the thing if jesus has eternally existed and he
lived and he's alive right now and he will eternally exist and he's the word of god wouldn't
make sense that the word of god can also be preserved for for all of eternity go to if you
would isaiah 59 isaiah 59 verse 21 says this as for me this is my covenant with them saith the lord
remember god can't lie my spirit that is upon thee in my words which i put in thy mouth shall
not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds
seed saith the lord from henceforth and forever god saying hey isaiah these words that i'm giving
you they're going to be with you your whole life not only your whole life your children's whole life
not only their whole life your grandchildren's whole life and also just from henceforth and
forever he's saying the word of god's not going anywhere the word of god is not going to be lost
it's not going to be in a trash can in a monastery no god preserves his word for all of eternity stay
there or actually you could turn to uh colossians 1 matthew 24 35 says heaven and earth shall pass
away but my words shall not pass away now why is this important why is it important to be king
james only and how are we going to relate this to anchor baptist church well because there's a
doctrine out there today that is very popular amongst churches i would say that the vast majority
of churches believe what i call original manuscript onlyists original manuscript onlyism what they
teach and if you look at the doctrinal statement of just any pick a church around here i guarantee
you nine out of ten times this is what it's going to say we believe that the word of god was
originally inspired in the original languages that's what they'll say they don't say that we
have it today if you ask them hey where's the perfect word of god today they'll say well this
is the best we've got well we think that the esv is the most accurate or we use the niv or we use
the new american standard or whatever but they'll tell you oh yeah yeah the word of god was perfect
back thousands of years ago when it was given to them but guess what that doesn't help us today
and let me tell you something the original manuscript onlyism doctrine is a doctrine of
convenience for false prophets now i'm not saying every person that believes this is a false prophet
but it is a perfect doctrine for false prophets why here's why because they can go to a verse in
the bible and you could read it you could look at it with your eyes and it's like here's what the
bible says but then the preacher because he believes in original manuscript onlyism he gets
to stand up before the congregation and say well i know that the bible in front of you says this
but if you actually go to the greek it says something completely different and the preacher
now has an ability to manipulate his audience to twist the words of god to teach whatever he
wants that is a cult and people say you guys are a cult because you're king james only
excuse me the king james bible in front of us is the final authority and if i'm reading it to you
and it says something you're looking at it it's always right and if i ever say something that's
different than the bible the bible's right and i'm wrong but the real cult leader is the one that
says hey the bible's wrong and i'm right so who's the cult here king james onlyists or original
manuscript onlyists the omos those people are the real cults today colossians chapter one colossians
chapter one so number one we have an anchor in the lord jesus christ number two we have an anchor
in the king james bible number three we have an anchor in the promise of heaven look at colossians
one verse three it says we give thanks to god and the father of our lord jesus christ praying always
for you since we heard of your faith in christ jesus and of the love which you have to all the saints
for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven where have you heard before in the word of the
truth of the gospel so here's the cool thing if we believe that jesus is our anchor and is our hope
and we believe that the word of god is our anchor and is our hope you know that means that means
that everything that the bible says we can anchor our soul in and have hope in including this
promise right here verse five it says for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven you know one
of the sweetest promises in the bible that can help us endure affliction and trouble in our life
is the promise of heaven because guess what you don't only live once and we are not of all men
most miserable but actually jesus christ did die on the cross he did conquer death and hell
and we have a promise waiting for us the promise of heaven look at second corinthians chapter five
second corinthians chapter five now why is this promise so sweet why is this something we can
anchor ourselves to one reason is because getting old sucks which i'm not old yet but i've heard it
sucks and i have had some a lot of injuries okay so i know i'm young but my body is pretty jacked
up but i'm looking forward to getting a new body someday now i'm going to read or look at second
corinthians five verse one says this for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved we have a building of god and house made not with hands eternal in the heavens this bible's
talking about this house and how someday this house is going to be dissolved but god has a
building for us waiting in heaven now what i think this is talking about is the fact that we're
getting a new body someday that's the building that you're getting in heaven someday and i'll
prove this stay there i'll read for you romans 822 it says for we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now that's you and you get out of bed verse 23
says and not only they but ourselves also which have the first fruits of the spirit even we
ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body the
bible's literally talking about how you're going through all this pain and all of creation
eventually goes through all this pain and we're groaning and travailing waiting for the redemption
of our bodies now some of us are groaning for this a lot more than others but the truth is all of us
will be groaning for it someday verse three says this of second corinthians 5 it says if so be that
being clothed we shall not be found naked see this is talking about your body here for we that are in
this tabernacle do groan being burdened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that
mortality might be swallowed up of life now he that hath wrought us for this self same thing as god
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the spirit therefore we are always confident knowing
this that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the lord for we walk by faith
not by sight and jokes aside you know the promise of heaven is something that we can anchor our
souls to because the truth is is that as people get older if you do have health problems or just
anything going wrong with your body you know that can often cause people to stop serving god
and sometimes you literally have no choice like if you can't walk yeah i get it you can't go
soul winning you know at least you can't go door to door but what's encouraging and what keeps us
in the faith and what excites us looking forward to the future is that someday all of us are
actually getting a new body a glorified body where everything's going to work perfectly we're not
going to have any pain there's not going to be any more death there's not going to be any more
crying that's something that we could look forward to and the bible said in colossians that that is
a hope that we have the hope that's laid up for us in heaven go to revelation 22 revelation 22
while you're turning there romans 8 18 says for i reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us what helps you get
through sufferings well realizing that hey the sufferings i'm experiencing now are not even
worthy to be compared with the glory that's going to be revealed in us when we get to heaven
revelation 22 one says this it's going to explain some things about heaven it says
and he showed me a pure river of water of life clear as crystal proceeding out of the throne of
god and of the lamb you know i'm someone that enjoys nature i like going outside i like visiting
the mountains i like hunting and hiking and camping all that stuff and i think it's cool
that in heaven there's going to be a pure water of life that's pure and clear as crystal i mean
that's going to be just a beautiful thing to look at right that's something that i have hope and i'm
excited to see someday verse two in the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river
there was there the tree of life which bare 12 manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations and there shall be no more curse but
the throne of god and of the lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him and they shall
see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads see that's exciting that we're going
to get to serve god in heaven that his servants shall serve him and that we're going to get to see
the face of god see no one can see the face of god the father right now and live you would die
immediately but someday we're going to be able to behold the face of god verse five says and there
shall be no night there it's always going to be daytime and they need no candle neither light of
the sun praise god i always talk about there's not going to be any more sunburns in heaven
I am excited for that that is a great blessing for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign forever and ever
He said unto me these sayings are faithful and true and the Lord God of the holy prophets
Sent his angels to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done behold. I come quickly
Blessed is he that keep it the sayings of the prophecy of this book, you know
What should motivate us to keep the sayings of the prophecy of the Bible?
What should motivate us to continue to be steadfast to be anchored to always be abounding in the work of the Lord?
Because pretty soon Jesus is coming. That's why because pretty soon we're gonna blink our eyes and we're gonna be old and gray
I mean, I don't know about you. I could I have a pretty good memory and I could think back to being a young child
I could think back when I was four years old when 9/11 happened
I could I could immediately just close my eyes and I'm right there in the living room
I could see my mom crying like I could put myself back into memories really quick
It's just weird to think about like how I can remember that. It's like boom. Here we are in 2024 and someday
We're gonna be old someday. We're gonna be on our deathbed and you're gonna be thinking like I was just a child
I was just I was just at anchor Baptist Church when it started in 2024
I was just getting married like life goes so quickly and pretty soon. We're gonna be in heaven pretty soon
None of this earthly stuff is gonna matter your job isn't gonna matter
What type of house you lived in isn't gonna matter your car isn't gonna matter your status and your cool clothes and being loved by the world
All that's gonna be trash because pretty soon Jesus is coming and you're gonna be sending eternity in heaven
You know what the promise of heaven excites me it anchors my soul to want to keep serving God number one
We have an anchor in the Lord Jesus Christ number two
We have an anchor in the King James Bible number three of an anchor in the promise of heaven number four
We have an anchor in the local New Testament church go to if you would Matthew 16
Matthew chapter number 16. This is another anchor we have in our lives is the New Testament church
Matthew 16 verse 13 Matthew 16 verse 13 says when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi
He asked his disciples saying whom do men say that I the son of man am and they said some say that thou art
John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremiah's or one of the prophets he saith unto them
But whom say ye that I am Simon Peter answered and said thou art the Christ the son of the living God
See Peter knew who the anchor was right verse 17 and Jesus answered and said unto him blessed art thou Simon Barjona
for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee but my father which is in heaven and I
Say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven
And whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loose in heaven
See the truth we can learn from this passage is that the institution that Jesus Christ
Founded on this earth that he purchased with his own blood the gates of hell will never prevail against the local New Testament church
The institution of the church cannot be defeated never has been never will be and there's been attempts, of course
And here's the thing
Individual churches can fail pastors can fail churches can get lazy
stop soul winning and lose their candlestick churches can get wicked and
Far from the Bible and start teaching false doctrine and lose their candlestick and not be a legitimate church
But in general the institution of the local New Testament church will never fail and let me tell you what there's been tons
Tons of attempts to cause the church to fail you have the Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church in the Dark Ages tried to stop the Word of God from being given to the common man
The Catholic Church literally made laws in I made a short about it. Where was the exact year?
I'll have to reference that but they literally made laws to where it was illegal to
Translate the scriptures into the common tongue and you had guys like William Tyndale who at the stake of his own life
Was illegally translating the scriptures into English and he was eventually killed by being burned alive on the stake saying Lord open
The king of England's eyes and then less than a hundred years later
King James commissioned the beginning of the translation of the King James Bible that we hold in our hands today
You know the Catholic Church did try to destroy the true Church of God because let me tell you what the Catholic Church is
Not the true church. They are the Church of Satan. They are ministers of the devil
The true church is the one that Jesus Christ established which is local independent churches and even in our own lives
Haven't we seen people try to stop churches before haven't we seen the lawfare against our churches? Haven't we seen the protests?
And the death threats and the news articles and all these things
We've seen the gates of hell try to come against the church, but guess what did it prevail? No, it didn't
Why because steadfast Baptist Church the one I'm referring to right now was anchored
Steadfast Baptist Church had the anchor of the Lord Jesus Christ had the anchor of the King James Bible
And so of course God Jesus is saying hey the gates of hell is not going to prevail against that church
And let me tell you the gates of hell will never prevail
Against anchor Baptist Church when we're doing what's right in the sight of God when we're following the King James Bible when we're
Worshipping and praising and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing that could stop this church
It doesn't matter what threats come against us
It doesn't matter if some of us get arrested or killed even nothing can stop this church if it's pleasing to God
Go to first timothy chapter three and you know, like I said individual churches can fail pastors can fail
But my goal my desire my heart's hope for anchor baptist church
Is that anchor baptist church will be an anchor for you that this can be a place where you could anchor?
Your soul and anchor your family first timothy 315 says this but if I tarry long that thou mayst know how thou oughtest
To behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth
you know if we want this church to be successful this church has to be the pillar and ground of the truth and I have to
Dedicate myself and be diligent that I'm studying the Bible and that I am presenting the truth to this church and that all
Of us as a church family that we together are rallied around the truth
And when we do that that is a church that the gates of hell will not prevail against go to psalm 92 psalm
92 psalm chapter 92
You know, we need to get back to a culture in Christianity where church is not a game church is not a social club
Church is a place that you come to hear the truth and so many churches today
They focus way too much on growth and just getting as many people in the doors as possible
Being pleasing to the community being in the news in a positive light
You know having the police chief come to their building and give all these awards and stuff like that
But they do those things oftentimes at the expense of the truth because what Jesus said is that when you preach the truth
You'll actually be hated of all men and Jesus Christ who is the truth who never told a lie
Was hated so much that he was brutally murdered on the cross. And so this church
I'm not interested in just seeing how much prestige we can get how big we can get just at the expense of telling the truth
This church needs to be a place that preaches the truth
Psalm 92 verse 12 says the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon those that be planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age
They shall be fat and flourishing to show that the Lord is upright
He is my rock and there's no unrighteousness in him
See the Bible tells you that if you plant yourself in the house of the Lord that you will flourish
You know what?
I've seen in my life that people that are faithful to church people that are free to thrive
People that seek first the kingdom of God, you know what they have all these things added unto them
You know what you see people that spend their whole life
Investing in the things of God investing in the people of God investing in souls
You know what's cool about them is that they get to old age and they're still bringing forth fruit
You know, it makes me think about my friends Tony never Garcia that are great pillars at steadfast Baptist Church
That are great examples to look to that you could say hey, here's some empty nesters
They don't even have young kids anymore. But you know what? They're still doing super faithful
I saw today brother Tony this morning at 9 a.m
Was preaching the Spanish service and he helps with the security and he helps with the ushering and they clean the building
They do a ton of work even in what a lot of people would consider old age
I don't think you guys are old if you're watching. Okay, I love you guys
But if they continue doing that they will still be bringing forth fruit in their old age
They will still be flourishing and that's a promise that you get from God when you do what when you plant yourself or when you?
Anchor yourself in the house of the Lord
And you know
I want to encourage everyone in this room to just make the decision in your heart to anchor yourself
Into this church and look I say go to the best church in your area
If you think that there's another church in Oklahoma City where you're gonna be able to hear better preaching where you're gonna be able to
Hear more truth where you're gonna be able to do more works for God more soul winning. Hey, I'm not here to stop you
Go ahead. I'm for you. I'll go with you if the church is better
I want to be in the best church as possible
But if you believe that this is the best church in this area just make the decision in your heart saying you know
What anchor Baptist Church is my church and I'm gonna anchor myself in this church
I'm gonna plant myself in the house of the Lord and I'm gonna watch God flourish my life
That is a promise from God Psalm 84 Psalm 84 while you're turning here. I'll read some 27 says one thing
Have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that?
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
And you know I could honestly stand before you this morning and say that that is the desire that I have for my life is
To be in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
And even if I never became a pastor I was gonna be in church all the days of my life
Whether I was on staff whether I'm a pastor whether I'm a layman whether I'm a nobody
I want to be in the house of God
That is the attitude that the spirit-filled psalmist had and if you don't have that attitude today
You need a heart check you need to read the Bible you need to pray the Lord and get anchored into your New Testament Church
Psalm 84 one says how amiable are thy tabernacles Oh Lord of hosts. Do you feel that way about church?
Do you think how lovely God is it to go to church? How wonderful it is. What a blessing it is
What a privilege today that we have to worship freely in the New Testament Church
That is a blessing verse 2 my soul longeth
Yeah, even fainted for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cry it out for the living God
Yay, the sparrow hath found in house and the swallow a nest for herself or she may lay her young even nine alters
Oh Lord of hosts my king and my God blessed are they that dwell in my house?
They will still be praising the sea law, you know
We need a comeback in America of going to church
There is a huge dearth in our country of people forsaking the house of God or downscaling church attendance
We need to have the attitude of the psalmist here saying how amiable are thy courts?
Oh Lord saying look my soul my flesh is longing to go to church not waking up thinking
Oh, I gotta go to church this morning. Should it should we even go should we just sleep in?
Should we not go to church this morning? You know what? That's not a heart that God's pleased with that's not that's not someone
That's a man after God's own heart or a woman after God's own heart
That's someone that is weak and backslidden. You know what? You should have the attitude saying I want to go to church
I want to be there Sunday morning. I want to be there Sunday night. I want to be there Wednesday night
I want to go to the church events. I want to go to the soul winning times
I want to be a part of God's house
Why because this is the institution that Jesus Christ died for this church isn't about me
This church isn't about you. This church is about Jesus Christ. This church is about the anchor of our souls
Go back to Hebrews 6 Hebrews chapter 6 Hebrews chapter number 6
So I hope you could see that I didn't just name this church because it's a cool sounding name though
I think it is a cool sounding name or just because we could make cool logos, though
I do think we can make cool logos
That's not why I named this church that you know
This is a powerful verse in the Bible and you really understand it when you understand what Hebrews 6 is teaching and the fact
That we have that anchor of the soul, you know, what's cool is that hey, we're still sure foundation and we're we're still steadfast as well
Hebrews 6 verse 19 says which hope that's Jesus we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and
Steadfast and which entereth into that within the veil whether the forerunner is for us entered even
Jesus made in high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek
You know, I'm really excited about the future of this church. I'm really thankful to be the pastor here
I'm thankful for the people that attend this church
I would just you know
Encourage you to just plant these truths deep into your heart to really internalize these things and to really say for yourself personally
That you have an anchor you have an anchor in the Lord Jesus Christ
You have an anchor in the Word of God you have an anchor in the promise of heaven
You have an anchor in anchor Baptist Church. Let's pray Lord. Thank you for this day
Thank you so much for the opportunity to preach these dear people
I just pray that you would bless this church help us all to grow spiritually help us all to mature together and help us to
Be a church that's anchored to the Lord Jesus Christ to his words
And I pray that you would just enable us to do great works for you for your honor and glory
We love you in Jesus name. We pray amen for our last hymn this morning if you'll grab your hymnals turn to him number
140 we have an anchor
and number
141 4 0 we have an anchor we'll sing there starting on the first