In today's message, we explored the profound concept of being anchored in God, drawing inspiration from Hebrews 6:19-20, which speaks of hope as an anchor for the soul. As we embark on the journey of 2025, the word "anchored" serves as our guiding theme, reminding us that God is our steadfast anchor, holding us securely through both calm and stormy seas. Anchors are not only for turbulent times; they are essential for maintaining our position even in tranquility. This year, we are called to examine what we are truly anchored to and ensure that our lives are firmly tied to God, the only anchor capable of holding our purpose, family, and destiny.

We reflected on the story of Noah, who waited patiently for God's timing before leaving the ark, illustrating the importance of trusting God's process and timing. Similarly, we must resist the urge to prematurely step out of God's protection and instead wait on Him with anticipation and expectation. Our journey requires intentionality in maintaining our connection to God through prayer, fasting, and reading His Word. These practices are vital in keeping us anchored, allowing us to withstand life's challenges and remain steadfast in our faith.

Prayer is essential for staying anchored, serving as a lifeline that keeps us connected to God. We are encouraged to engage in both private and corporate prayer, recognizing the power of communal intercession. Fasting, though challenging, is a spiritual discipline that strengthens our spirit and deepens our reliance on God. It is a deliberate act of surrender, allowing us to hear God's voice more clearly. Lastly, reading the Word of God is crucial for spiritual growth and understanding. By following a reading plan and choosing a Bible translation that resonates with us, we can immerse ourselves in God's truth and remain anchored in His promises.

As we navigate the uncertainties of 2025, let us anchor ourselves to God, trusting in His unwavering presence and provision. Whether we face triumphs or trials, our security lies in being tied to the anchor that is God. Let us intentionally prepare ourselves, ensuring that we remain steadfast in our faith and anchored in His love.

**Key Takeaways:**

1. **Choice in Worship:** Worship is a choice, independent of our feelings or circumstances. Just as students may not feel like going to school, we may not always feel like worshiping God. Yet, we are called to choose worship, trusting that God is worthy of our praise regardless of our current situation. [38:42]

2. **Waiting on God's Timing:** The story of Noah teaches us the importance of waiting on God's timing. Even when the rain stopped, Noah waited for God's signal to leave the ark. We must resist the urge to act prematurely and trust that God is still working, even when we don't see immediate results. [48:01]

3. **God as Our Anchor:** God is the only anchor capable of holding us securely through life's storms and calm seas. We must ensure that we are tied to Him, not relying on other anchors like relationships or careers, which can fail us. Our security lies in being anchored to God. [01:00:02]

4. **The Role of Prayer and Fasting:** Prayer and fasting are essential practices that keep us anchored to God. Prayer maintains our connection with Him, while fasting strengthens our spirit and deepens our reliance on His guidance. Both disciplines require intentionality and commitment. [01:10:51]

5. **The Importance of Scripture:** Reading the Word of God is crucial for spiritual growth and understanding. By following a reading plan and choosing a Bible translation that resonates with us, we can immerse ourselves in God's truth and remain anchored in His promises. [01:18:48]

**Youtube Chapters:**

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [38:42] - Choosing to Worship
- [45:48] - Noah's Patience and Trust
- [48:01] - Waiting on God's Timing
- [54:27] - God's Faithfulness
- [55:53] - Reflecting on 2024: The Year of Building
- [57:27] - Anchored: Our Word for 2025
- [58:20] - Understanding the Anchor
- [01:00:02] - God as Our True Anchor
- [01:01:22] - Hebrews 6:19-20: Our Anchor of Hope
- [01:02:58] - Jesus, Our High Priest
- [01:04:34] - The Importance of Being Tied to the Anchor
- [01:05:45] - Examining Our Anchors
- [01:07:11] - The Role of Anchors in Calm and Storm
- [01:09:44] - Staying Anchored in 2025
- [01:10:51] - Prayer: Essential for Staying Anchored
- [01:12:39] - Corporate Prayer and Fasting
- [01:18:48] - Reading the Word: Staying Anchored

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
- Hebrews 6:19-20

---

**Observation Questions:**

1. What does Hebrews 6:19-20 describe as an anchor for the soul, and how is it characterized? [01:01:22]
2. In the sermon, what was the significance of Noah waiting for God's timing before leaving the ark? [48:01]
3. How does the pastor describe the role of an anchor during both calm and stormy times? [01:07:11]
4. What are the practices mentioned in the sermon that help us stay anchored to God? [01:10:51]

---

**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How does the concept of God as our anchor provide security in both calm and turbulent times? [01:00:02]
2. What might be the consequences of tying ourselves to other "anchors" like relationships or careers instead of God? [01:00:02]
3. Why is it important to wait on God's timing, as illustrated by Noah's story? How can this apply to our lives today? [48:01]
4. How do prayer and fasting contribute to our spiritual growth and connection with God? [01:10:51]

---

**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on your current life situation. Are there areas where you feel adrift? How can you ensure you are anchored to God in these areas? [01:00:02]
2. Think about a time when you acted prematurely instead of waiting on God's timing. What did you learn from that experience, and how can you apply it moving forward? [48:01]
3. What specific steps can you take to incorporate more prayer into your daily routine? Consider both private and corporate prayer opportunities. [01:12:39]
4. Fasting is described as a spiritual discipline that strengthens our reliance on God. How can you incorporate fasting into your spiritual practice this year? [01:13:49]
5. How can you make reading the Word of God a consistent part of your life? What practical steps can you take to follow a reading plan? [01:18:48]
6. Worship is a choice, independent of our feelings or circumstances. How can you choose to worship God even when you don't feel like it? [38:42]
7. Identify one area in your life where you need to trust God more. What actions can you take this week to demonstrate that trust? [01:09:44]

Day 1: Worship as a Deliberate Choice
Worship is not merely a response to our emotions or circumstances; it is a conscious decision to honor God regardless of how we feel. Just as students attend school even when they don't feel like it, we are called to choose worship, trusting that God is worthy of our praise in every situation. This choice reflects our commitment to God and acknowledges His sovereignty over our lives. By choosing to worship, we align our hearts with God's truth and open ourselves to His presence and peace. [38:42]

Psalm 95:6-7 (ESV): "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand."

Reflection: Think of a time when you didn't feel like worshiping. How can you intentionally choose to worship God today, regardless of your current emotions or circumstances?


Day 2: Trusting in God's Perfect Timing
The story of Noah illustrates the importance of waiting on God's timing. Even after the rain stopped, Noah waited for God's signal to leave the ark, demonstrating patience and trust in God's process. We often feel the urge to act prematurely, but trusting in God's timing means believing that He is working behind the scenes, even when we don't see immediate results. This trust requires patience and a willingness to surrender our own timelines to God's perfect plan. [48:01]

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV): "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."

Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you are struggling to wait on God's timing? How can you practice patience and trust in His process today?


Day 3: God as Our Unshakeable Anchor
God is the only anchor capable of holding us securely through life's storms and calm seas. While other anchors, such as relationships or careers, may fail us, God remains steadfast and unchanging. Our security lies in being anchored to Him, ensuring that our lives are firmly tied to His purpose and love. By anchoring ourselves to God, we can navigate life's uncertainties with confidence, knowing that He is our constant source of strength and stability. [01:00:02]

Isaiah 33:6 (ESV): "And he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure."

Reflection: What are some "anchors" in your life that you rely on besides God? How can you shift your focus to make God your primary anchor today?


Day 4: The Power of Prayer and Fasting
Prayer and fasting are essential practices that keep us anchored to God. Prayer serves as a lifeline, maintaining our connection with Him, while fasting strengthens our spirit and deepens our reliance on His guidance. Both disciplines require intentionality and commitment, allowing us to hear God's voice more clearly and align our lives with His will. Engaging in both private and corporate prayer, as well as fasting, can transform our spiritual journey and keep us grounded in God's presence. [01:10:51]

Joel 2:12-13 (ESV): "Yet even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."

Reflection: How can you incorporate prayer and fasting into your routine this week to deepen your connection with God?


Day 5: Immersing in Scripture for Spiritual Growth
Reading the Word of God is crucial for spiritual growth and understanding. By following a reading plan and choosing a Bible translation that resonates with us, we can immerse ourselves in God's truth and remain anchored in His promises. Scripture provides guidance, wisdom, and encouragement, helping us navigate life's challenges and remain steadfast in our faith. As we delve into God's Word, we discover His character and His plans for our lives, strengthening our relationship with Him. [01:18:48]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Reflection: What specific steps can you take to immerse yourself in God's Word this week? Consider starting a new reading plan or exploring a different Bible translation.

"And so church, it doesn't matter if what you're going through right now has you in a place of feeling like not worshiping God. You choose all around this sanctuary and if you're watching on home this morning, just right where you are, close your eyes, lift your hands towards heaven, and declare it, I'm this sanctuary, declare it. I'm going to wait on you. going to wait on you. I'm going to wait on you." [00:38:42] (137 seconds)


"But the day it stopped raining is not the day that they got out of the ark. And all the animals that were with him in the ark and God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped. Watch. And the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of 150 days, the water decreased. It rained for 40 days." [00:45:48] (49 seconds)


"We're looking and saying, but the rain stopped. I can go outside. And God says, no, no, no, no, no, I'm still working. Okay, okay, it's been three months. I can go outside. God says, no, no, no, no, no, I'm still working. I let out the dove and it came back with an olive leaf. I must be ready to go. No, no, no, no, no, wait another seven days until you hear my voice say go." [00:48:01] (22 seconds)


"And God is our anchor. And anchors are made proportionate to the vessel, aren't they? I mean, if you're on a small boat, you don't need a giant anchor. Like I've been on a small little boat, small little skiff, you need a small anchor. But we went on a cruise this summer, and that small little anchor, I don't even think it would have reached the bottom of the cruise ship in the depths of the ocean." [00:58:20] (30 seconds)


"Because for a massive vessel, it requires a massive anchor. And the only... The only anchor that can hold your purpose, your call, your family, your destiny, is God. And the only anchor that can hold us securely is Him. And I felt the Lord impress upon my heart that many of us at different moments and times in our lives, we've tied ourselves to other anchors." [01:00:02] (36 seconds)


"And church, let me tell you something. God always is steady and holding us, and we must remain anchored to Him. See, we're not the anchor. We are anchored when the anchor is tossed. And you and I must remain tied to Him, attached to Him. One of the things that I've learned about anchors and using anchors is that anchors are not only used when there are storms." [01:01:22] (42 seconds)


"Hebrews 6, if you go to Hebrews 6, verse 19 and 20, this is the verse that God gave me for our church for this year, Hebrews 6, 19 and 20. This hope, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. If you've got your Bible, underline those words, sure and steadfast, which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." [01:02:58] (43 seconds)


"That hope that no matter what's going on, Jesus is there. God is there. That is an anchor for our soul. But church, an anchor only serves its purpose and it's only good if it's tied to the vessel. See, if I don't have something tying the rope or the chain to the anchor and to the vessel, I can drop anchor, but I'm going to go, bye -bye." [01:04:34] (35 seconds)


"Prayer is essential to remain anchored. Some of you perhaps are saying, man, you talked very briefly about prayer last week. Last week, you said prayer is required maintenance. Maintenance in the life of a believer. And it is. Because it's essential to keep you tied to the anchor. Prayer is talking to God. And we need to constantly be in prayer. Constantly be talking to God." [01:10:51] (26 seconds)

Damaris said something a few minutes ago. She said it's a choice. We choose whether we're going to worship Him or not; we choose.

And something that this song says is, no matter what I'm feeling.

Now, if you're a student, raise your hand. Students, if you're middle schoolers, high schoolers, college kids, raise your hands. Y'all ready to go back to school tomorrow? Do you feel like going to school tomorrow? Parents, your kids are going to tell you tomorrow, "I don't feel like going to school."

And so, church, it doesn't matter if what you're going through right now has you in a place of feeling like not worshiping God. You choose.

All around this sanctuary, and if you're watching at home this morning, just right where you are, close your eyes, lift your hands towards heaven, and declare it. I'm going to wait on you.

I'm going to wait on you. I'm going to wait on you.

Seven of each of the clean animals that were used for sacrifice. And they got in this ark, and God sealed the door of the ark, and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The Bible says that the gates of the oceans or the waters were opened. Water came from underneath. Water came from the top. 40 days and 40 nights.

But the day it stopped raining is not the day that they got out of the ark.

And all the animals that were with him in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped. Watch.

And the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of 150 days, the water decreased. It rained for 40 days.

Noah opened the window of which he had made. By the way, there were no windows that he was looking outside, "How's the water?" He had to totally trust God.

And when he opened the window, the Bible says...

Days, verse 10, and set the dove out again. This time, the dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her mouth. And Noah, saying, "Us are trying to prematurely get out of the ark of protection that God has placed us in."

We're looking and saying, "But the rain stopped. I can go outside." And God says, "No, no, no, no, no, I'm still working."

Okay, okay, it's been three months. I can go outside. God says, "No, no, no, no, no, I'm still working."

I let out the dove, and it came back with an olive leaf. I must be ready to go. No, no, no, no, no, wait another seven days until you hear my voice say go.

That word wait means to patiently be in anticipation and expectation.

First Sunday of 2025, what are you expecting from God? In your life, in your family, in all that you possess, everything that's your circle, your surrounding, you.

And Father, we thank you for your mercy and grace as you've waited on us.

And so God, I declare today, today, as I wait on you, I will not make you wait on me any longer.

Lord, you can have my whole heart, my whole mind, every inch and fiber of my being in Jesus' name.

Come on, if you believe it, if that's you, give God a hand of praise all around this sanctuary this morning. Amen and amen.

Come on, you can have a seat. Say Happy New Year to somebody this morning and welcome them. Tell them, "I'm waiting on the Lord."

Alexander, can you grab? Praise God.

God is so good, and God is so faithful. And God is merciful. And God never, ever, ever leaves us. God never, ever forsakes us. And He always holds us in the palm of His hands.

I think Damaris said it just a minute ago. At one point, she said, Isaiah says that He's holding us, and God is holding you. He hasn't stopped, and He never will. Amen.

We want to welcome you this morning. My name is David. I'm the lead pastor here at 3W Church.

Our vision, our why, we say it this way: We exist to get people to a place where they will acknowledge, trust, and lean on God daily. We exist to get people to a place where they will acknowledge, trust, and lean on God daily. And we must daily encounter.

And as we daily encounter Him, He will speak to us and show Himself to us. Amen. Come on, give God one more hand of praise. Amen.

2024 was a great year. In 2024 here at our church, the word that God gave us is the word build. It's the word build. We talked about build all year long.

We asked God, "Build me, build us." We talked about God building our character. God building each and every one of us.

And one of the things we talked about last week as we wrapped up the year was the fact that we're still under construction, right? God's not done with me yet. God's still working. And until the day that I die and go before His presence, He will continue a work in me.

And God wants to continue to work in each and every one of us. I want to make sure I talk about that for a second because when God gives us a prophetic word or vision for our local church and gives us a word, a phrase, something for us to stand upon on which we build throughout that year, at the end of it, it doesn't mean, okay, we just forget about that, right?

So several years ago, the word that God had put upon us was the word intentional, because we had to be intentional in our pursuit, in our growth. If you walk into my office, I still have about a seven-foot sign that says intentional on my wall.

We had it in the front, then it went into my office. It's still there. A couple of years ago, it was the word faith, and we had that big poster out there still in the hallway, because how many of you know that we still need faith every single day?

And the just shall live by faith is what it says in the book of Habakkuk. And last year was the word build, and we're building.

And so it doesn't mean that that's over, but as we were seeking God and pursuing and asking, I was asking God, "Where do you want our church? What is the word? What do you want in this year, 2025?"

After praying and reading scripture, and man, it's like everywhere I turned, He would confirm time and time again.

And the word is anchored. Anchored is our anchor. We talk about things that deal with what anchors are or what they do.

And you think about it for a second, just straight, the word anchor, what's the definition of an anchor? It's something that holds you securely in place.

And God is our anchor. And anchors are made proportionate to the vessel, aren't they? I mean, if you're on a small boat, you don't need a giant anchor.

Like I've been on a small little boat, small little skiff; you need a small anchor. But we went on a cruise this summer, and that small little anchor, I don't even think it would have reached the bottom of the cruise ship in the depths of the ocean.

It needed a very big, massive... If you've ever been on a cruise ship, if you've ever driven down towards the beach and you look and see the cruise ships right there, you see these giant, massive... It ain't something that you and I can pick up.

I know, Nick, you're strong, but you and I can't pick up that anchor. Why? Because for a massive vessel, it requires a massive anchor.

And the only anchor that can hold your purpose, your call, your family, your destiny, is God. And the only anchor that can hold us securely is Him.

And I felt the Lord impress upon my heart that many of us at different moments and times in our lives, we've tied ourselves to other anchors. We've tied ourselves and said that what's going to steady us is our spouse, or what's going to steady us is our parent, or our child, or our work, or our career.

And if one of those things that we considered what steadied us, if we lost it, if they passed, if something happened and it was broken away from us, we felt that now we became adrift.

I remember being on a small boat one time, and we had thrown anchor, but we found our anchor, and we said, ourselves drifting.

And the reason was, even though we had placed the anchor, the anchor never took root in the seafloor.

And church, let me tell you something. God always is steady and holding us, and we must remain anchored to Him.

See, we're not the anchor. We are anchored when the anchor is tossed.

And you and I must remain tied to Him, attached to Him.

One of the things that I've learned about anchors and using anchors is that anchors are not only used when there are storms. Anchors are used during a storm, but they're also used in a moment of calm.

And I felt the Lord impress upon me. I felt the Lord impress upon me. I felt the Lord impress on my heart very clearly that just because the word is anchored doesn't mean that there's going to be necessarily large storms that we're going to face.

Regardless of where you are, whether you be in a moment of tranquil seas or rough seas, the anchor will remain and keep us in place, steady, if we're tied to it.

Hebrews 6, if you go to Hebrews 6, verse 19 and 20, this is the verse that God gave me for our church for this year, Hebrews 6, 19 and 20.

This hope, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. If you've got your Bible, underline those words, sure and steadfast, which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

Church, Jesus is our high priest. He is our high priest. High priest.

Perhaps you are new to the walk of the Lord, or maybe you've been walking with Him for a while and you've heard the stories of the tabernacle.

And when you read in the Old Testament, the children of Israel, they were in bondage and in slavery for 400 years in Egypt. And God sent Moses, and he went and told Pharaoh, "Let my people go."

Maybe you watched Prince of Egypt, the cartoon, or you've watched one of these movies. You know the story. You watched the Charlton Heston version of Moses. You know the story. You know the story. You know the story. Moses, if you're a little older. Some of y'all don't know who Charlton Heston is. Don't worry about it. You're too young then.

God used Moses, and the children of Israel came out of slavery and went into the wilderness.

And while they were there, God gave Moses the blueprint for the tabernacle.

And the tabernacle consisted of different areas. There was the place where, the courtyard where they worshiped and sacrificed. And there was the holy place. And then there was the holies of holies.

And in the holies of holies is the place where the presence of God came.

And in the holies of holies is the place that the high priest could enter but one time a year.

And then God tells us that Jesus, His son, the one who lived a perfect life, did what we couldn't do, died on the cross and rose from the grave, to pay the price for my mess-ups and yours, because we all done sin.

We all mess up. We all fall short of the glory of God. And Jesus paid that price and tore the veil that separated God's presence from the people as the high priest forever so that you and I could have access to His presence.

That hope anchors us. That hope that no matter what's going on, Jesus is there. God is there. That is an anchor for our soul.

But church, an anchor only serves its purpose, and it's only good if it's tied to the vessel.

See, if I don't have something tying the rope or the chain to the anchor and to the vessel, I can drop anchor, but I'm going to go bye-bye.

If you've seen Mufasa recently, you're going to go bye-bye, or whatever the song says. Sorry, I can't do it. My kids sing it all the time now.

And sometimes the problem that we're facing is not in the God that we serve; it's in the fact that we're not tied to the anchor.

This is funny. But on one of the times that we went fishing, the person who owned the boat had done some work with the anchor and the stuff, and we didn't realize we hadn't tied the rope back to the boat.

And we tossed the anchor, and the rope went with it, and one of us had to jump and grab it.

Because if the anchor goes without the rope... The boat's going away.

And that's where many of us have found ourselves. God's the anchor, but I'm not tied to Him.

So church, here's the question. What anchors are we tied to? What anchors are we tying our life to? And are we sincerely and truly anchoring our lives to God? Tying ourselves to the anchor that is God.

He's the anchor. He is the one that holds us.

If you know anything about boats, and you may not, you look at the nautical function of an anchor. One of the things is to hold a vessel in place.

Another thing is to help the vessel withstand the elements. And church, regardless of what's going on in your life or in my life, the only anchor that can hold us in place and help us withstand whatever we face is Jesus.

He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His name is God.

I wrote a thought down. Only God can hold us securely in place whether the waters are calm or turbulent.

You don't only use an anchor if there's a storm. And you only don't use the anchor if it's calm. You use the anchor when you want to stay in place.

And if there's a current and the anchor is in the water and you're tied to the anchor, you're not going to go away.

And if there's a storm and you're securely fastened to the anchor and the anchor is there, you're not going to go away.

And in 2025, we don't know what's coming. In the same way that we didn't know what was coming in 2024.

And some of us went through amazing successes and victories in 2024. And some of us went through debilitating hardships in 2024.

But you know what remained? God.

And Jesus has told us that things will happen. But have peace; I've overcome the world.

You know, earlier this year, or last year, sorry.

Anybody else make that mess up so far this year? We're on day five of 2025.

I encourage you to keep journals, write what God tells you and things. And I write the date on my Bible reading journal.

And I did very good. On January 1st, I wrote 1-1-25. On the 2nd, I wrote 1-2-24. On the 3rd, I wrote 1-2-24.

And I didn't realize it till yesterday when I went to write 1-4-24. And I caught myself. I wrote 25. And then I flipped the page. I was like, ooh, I messed up yesterday. Ooh, I messed up the day before too.

So last year, there was a massive storm heading towards Tampa. We thank God the storm ended up not hitting Tampa because they were projecting it to, I mean, destroy it.

And Tampa still had a lot of issues, but it didn't go as bad as they thought.

And they were interviewing this gentleman who lives on a boat. He's a guy, and I don't know how he's gotten famous. He lives on this boat.

He's got this little boat. And he... He took it into, like, the bay. And people were telling him, "What are you doing? What are you doing? There's a storm coming. It's all this stuff."

And he talked, and he said, "I went out, and I got new big anchors." You remember the story? You saw the guy on the video.

He's like, "I got these big anchors. And I threw one on the front, and I threw one on the back. It doesn't matter how big the wave's going. My boat's not going anywhere."

Listen, I don't know what happened to the guy. I don't know what the thing... I just remember the story of the boat and the anchor.

He was confident because he had tied the chains and the ropes to the anchor and thrown it down that no matter how big the swells came, his boat would be okay.

And, church, I'm here to tell you that no matter what happens in 2025, highs, lows, good, bad, if you and I remain tied to the anchor, we will be okay.

And the anchor's only good if we're tied. If we're tied to it.

So I want us to talk about a few things that keep us tied to the anchor. I'm going to talk about a few things that keep us tied to the anchor.

Number one, prayer is essential to remain anchored.

Prayer is essential to remain anchored. Some of you perhaps are saying, "Man, you talked very briefly about prayer last week." Last week, you said prayer is required maintenance. Maintenance in the life of a believer. And it is.

Because it's essential to keep you tied to the anchor. Prayer is talking to God. And we need to constantly be in prayer. Constantly be talking to God.

Now, when we're, as a church, preparing for a new year, and if you've known me for any length of time, I don't like doing things the same way just because we've done it that way.

I'm always going to ask God, "God, where do you want us? What do you want us to do?"

If you remember last year, we did something that we had never done as a church. We had a monthly night service on the last Wednesday of the month that we called Devotion Night.

The first year we ever did that was last year. Because at the end of 2023, entering 2024, God impressed upon my heart, "This is the year to build, and Sundays is not enough, and small groups are not enough."

And He gave me what were the 12 lessons we were going to talk to, and we were going to go throughout the year.

And as I prayed, the Lord put in my heart, "We're not doing Devotion Night this year."

But prayer being a key component to keep us tied to the anchor, this is, as a church, what we're doing with prayer.

Number one, we're going to maintain having a weekly prayer service on Tuesdays at 6 in the morning here at the church.

Every Tuesday, 6 a.m., we open up the church. We have a time of worship. Individually, everybody is praying. There's music playing in the background; everybody's praying.

And that's going to continue for this year. I encourage you to add it into your schedule that you're going to come and join us corporately in prayer every so often on a Wednesday morning.

Maybe it's hard for you to be there every single Wednesday because of where you work or the time or the schedule. Make it a point.

And in addition to that, we're going to have one night a month where we're going to pray.

We're going to come together for corporate prayer. One night a month. The first one is Friday, February 24th, where we're going to open up the church and we're going to pray together. Corporate prayer.

If you remember from last week, we talked about private prayer, individual private prayer. We talked about praying with each other, right? With friends, with people.

And we talked about corporate prayer. There is power in corporate prayer, in praying together as a church.

So prayer is one of those parts of the rope, of the links of the chain, if you would, that keeps us tied to the anchor, which is God.

Here's another one of those links: fasting.

Fasting is essential to stay connected to the anchor.

Now, I don't like fasting. Okay? If you know me, I like to eat.

If you know me, I can sit at an all-you-can-eat and stuff my face and be thinking of what I'm going to eat three hours later.

My wife tells me all the time, "How can you do that?" Like, we'll eat and she'll be, "We'll eat and we'll pray." She's like, "I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray. I'll pray."

I'm not eating for the rest of the day. If this is linner, I'm like, "Linner? Unless I go to sleep in three hours, I got to eat again."

I don't like fasting. My flesh doesn't like fasting.

But when I subject my flesh and I fast with the purpose of seeking God, my spirit grows.

And so fasting, I encourage you, ask God, how often should you fast? Not just when we corporately fast, and I'll talk about that in a second, but live a life of fasting.

A life where you obey God if God tells you to fast once a month or once a week.

And by the way, you can't back pay your fast.

Do you ever got it where maybe the school year started? Not school year. I looked at a teacher, so I said school year.

The year started, and you started getting paid. And like in March, they do your performance review and they give you a raise.

And then they pay you like a one lump sum the previous three months of that raise. They retroactive the pay.

You can't retroactive? You can't retroactive fasting.

This is what I mean. If you got busy and you skipped lunch, two hours later, you can't say, "Well, I was fasting. I'm going to retroactively fast."

No, no, no, no, no. Fasting takes intentionality.

I am going to, on this day, deprive my flesh from eating this food. And I'm going to use that time to spend it with God, to hear His voice more clearly.

As a church, God put in my heart that we're going to have three seven-day corporate fasts this year.

We're going to have three seven-day corporate fasts. The first one is starting on January 21st. January 21st.

It already gives you a few weeks to start preparing, thinking about what you're going to fast. And I encourage you to fast some type of food.

Subject your flesh to fast. Sometimes we're living in a time where we just want to make everything convenient.

"Oh, I'm going to fast, but I don't want to fast meals. So I'm going to fast fast food."

What you can do, if you've got a health thing, that because of that, you have to eat something, listen, you can plan accordingly and say, "This is what I'm going to eat," right?

Like when Daniel fasted, he fasted for those 21 days. It says he didn't eat meat, and he didn't eat it.

Like, he didn't taste anything that was good. That's why when people talk about, "We're doing the Daniel fast," they only eat grains and these different things.

So maybe you have a medical situation that you have to eat. You can say, "I'm going to fast. I'm not going to eat X, Y, or Z. I'm just going to have a small portion so that I can take my medicine or whatever the case might be."

But I am challenging you to grow spiritually this year and corporately fast along with us.

I'm not telling you to pray about whether you should fast or not. If you're going to fast, you're going to fast.

You're going to fast. You're going to fast. You're going to fast. You're going to fast.

This is your church. God has already told you 3W Church is your church.

And we are calling for a corporate fast. The question shouldn't be, "Should I join the fast?" is "What am I going to fast during that time?"

Because you already asked God, "Is this my church?" At least you should have.

So the first one is starting on January 21st.

All the second fast is in May. The third one's in September.

They're all starting on a Tuesday, which what do we have on Tuesday mornings? Prayer.

And during the fast, the Friday night of the fast is going to be the corporate prayer night.

That's why in this month, it's on Friday, 24th. All the dates are already on the church center app.

Actually, if you go to the app, all the dates through September are there because fasting is imperative to keep us tied to the anchor, to the immovable object which is God.

And we live a life where we deprive ourselves to be tied to Him.

And number three, church, reading the word is essential to remain anchored.

Reading the word of God is essential to remain anchored.

Number three, many times we don't intentionally set aside time to read the word of God.

We'll say things like, "I'm too busy. I don't understand."

I don't know what, no, I encourage you, set aside time to read the word of God.

I want to give you some practical tips, right? Let's be practical with it.

Number one, get a Bible that you can understand.

So why? Watch, I own a bunch of different Bibles. I don't know how many of them, a bunch of different ones, in Spanish and English.

I don't even own one in German. I don't own one in French. I don't own a Bible in Portuguese.

You know why? I don't speak those languages, so I can't read it.

So why am I using that as an example? Maybe you're here and you're native, educated. My educational language is Spanish.

It's okay. Buy a Bible in Spanish if that's what you can understand more easily when you read it.

Get a translation you can understand.

Maybe the Bible you own, you got it when you stayed at the Marriott from the little desk drawer, right?

The Gideons left the Bible there, and they're there for that reason, for people to take it.

And maybe that's the Bible you have. And you opened it, and all of the Bibles that are in the hotels from the Gideons, they're in King James version.

So you open, it's like, "Thee shall go with to the..." No, I don't speak in thee and thou.

I remember it happened a couple of years ago, Rodimus, he was like, "Pastor, I need help with this verse."

I was like, "Sure." So he opens his Bible and he gives me, and I go to read, and I was like, "I don't know what that means because I don't speak that language."

And one of the first things I told him was like, "Rodimus, you got to go get a Bible that you can understand."

So get a new King James, get an English Standard Version, and watch how many of you, as you've gotten a little older, you just don't see the same.

So don't buy a pocket Bible. Don't buy the thin line.

I remember one year I was like, "Oh, I want to get a new Bible that I can just carry with me everywhere."

And I looked up and I ordered this thin line Bible. It's going to be easier to carry.

And then I opened it, and it did not bring the magnifying glass along with it.

So get one that the font you can read more clearly, easier.

So get a Bible that you can understand, a translation.

And here is an imperative component, very practical, but very, very important. Follow a reading plan.

Follow a reading plan. Many times as Christians, we get frustrated and don't read the Bible because our plan of reading the Bible is this: "Oh, whenever I get to it, I'm just going to open it."

And what does God want to say? So he says, "I'm going to open it. I'm going to open it. I'm going to open it."

Vision. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah, priest saying, "Oh, the great new altar burned the morning burnt."

I don't know what I'm talking about. Like there's no context. I haven't read before. I haven't read after.

So follow a reading plan. And depending on where you are, do you know my daughter, Samantha, she's seven years old.

She's not doing the church reading plan of the Bible in a year. She's seven.

But you know what we did give her? A one-year devotional for little kids.

And it's got a verse that she can read every day that she can look at.

My daughter, Alexandra, she's doing her plan. Abigail's got a plan. We sat with her. They sat.

What are we going to do? What is the goal? What are we going to read through?

I encourage all of us to go through the entire Bible, especially if we're adults.

Do you know that even if you're just an average reader, it takes about 15 minutes a day to read a Bible?

You can read the entire Bible in a year. Some of us spent an hour and a half scrolling a day.

We can give up 15 of those minutes and spend it with God.

If you want to read the one-year Bible plan as a church, you can scan this QR code, and you can do it on the YouVersion app.

Or we send out a daily email. How many of you get a daily email with the verse of the day and the plan?

And it says there, "Today, Genesis 11, 12, Matthew chapter 5, verses 1 through 26," whatever it is.

And you can open up your Bible and read it.

So I challenge you throughout this year, where we're going to have...

There's a lot of people in so much uncertainty right now. What's going to happen on January 20th?

Have you heard people talking about it? What's going to happen on the 20th? Is the inauguration? What's going to take place?

What's going to happen now when Biden's not in office and Trump is in office?

And depending on what side of the aisle you fell on, some are happy. Some are not happy. Some are sad.

Whatever the case might be, I don't know what's going to happen in this year, but I know I'm staying anchored to God.

I don't know what's going to happen with the stock market, but I am tied to the anchor, which is God, and He's my provider.

I don't know what's going to happen in any different area, but I do know what I'm going to do to stay tied to the anchor, God.

And so this year, worship teams start coming to the altar.

I challenge you, anchor yourself to God.

Don't do what many of us have done, and if we're authentic and honest, we've all done this: when everything's okay, I'm just fine and dandy.

But when stuff starts to happen, then we run to God.

That's the person who's only tossing anchor when there's a storm.

But the reality is the anchor is stopped tossed to remain.

You go fishing, and you get to your spot, and that's where you want to stay. You drop anchor so that you can cast freely and reel up in.

And so church, intentionally let us prepare ourselves and let us ensure that we're tied to the anchor as God.

Like that song said that we were doing a little bit ago, "I'm gonna wait on you. I'm gonna trust you."

Think about the trust that you need in the anchor when you're in the boat.

When a victory comes, remember who you're anchored to.

The week after a difficulty comes, remember who you're anchored to because He'll never leave you, He'll never forsake you, and He's never...

As long as we are tied to Him, and we're tied to Him, and we're tied to Him, and we're tied to Him.

He, by said what God put in her heart when she read the same passage that I read in daily Bible reading.

How about we stand to worship?

As we begin to worship, I started asking that question, what have we been anchored to?

If there's things in your life that perhaps you've been tying yourself to that God says, "That's not what I want from you," cut the rope.

Let that anchor go and tie yourself to Him.