Christ: My Guide, Protector, Constant Companion

Driving home: It is unlikely that any believer will go any great period with anything that one could call stability if he does not have some understanding of these fundamental truths.

The analogy of ballast in old seagoing vessels is used to represent foundational truths that provide spiritual stability for believers navigating life's 'uncharted waters'.

On the evening of December 31st of the year that has just passed, we gathered here to worship our God on his own special day, and on that occasion I began a brief series of messages, a series that I will conclude tonight. Using the analogy or the extended metaphor of the place of ballast in seagoing vessels of a bygone day, I've asserted that there are certain central foundational truths which function like ballast in the souls of the people of God, and taking the occasion of the new calendar year, I stated that we as God's children must grasp and apply these truths if we are to move steadily ...

0:04 - 1:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing on shepherd-sheep imagery, Martin expounds on Christ as the believer's personal guide, citing 1 Peter 2:25, John 10, Psalm 23, and Isaiah 40:11. He emphasizes Christ's…

The image of a shepherd calling his sheep by name from a stone sheepfold illustrates the intimate and personal nature of Christ's relationship with his people.

The picture is of the sheepfold made of stone and raised up to a height that the sheep could not jump over it. And there is an opening at which the porter, the guard, stands or lies at night. And when the true shepherd comes, the porter steps aside, lets him go in. Among the flock, and then notice, he calls his own sheep by name.

9:06 - 9:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Act faith upon every new dimension of Christ's character and work as discovered in Scripture.

A beautiful hymn from an old inter-Varsity hymn book is quoted to express the believer's desire for Christ's constant guidance and trust in Him even when unable to see the way.

Now, I'm not addressing the specifics of how he leads us as our guide. I commend to you the excellent little book by Dr. Ferguson called Discovering God's Will, a lovely little paperback, or the chapter in J. I. Packer's Knowing God, chapter 20, Thou Our Guide, wonderful, helpful counsel on how to lead us. How does the Lord Jesus specifically, individually guide his sheep? Or Pastor Hartland's wonderful series of messages preached at the men's retreat on decision-making and discernment and the will of God. I'm not going into the mechanics, but I do want us to grasp afresh that we will be deter...

19:58 - 20:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin develops Christ's role as protector, returning to Psalm 23 and John 10, where the shepherd is armed and willing to lay down his life for the sheep. He uses Paul's testimony…

Paul's testimony in 2 Timothy 4 of being delivered 'out of the mouth of the lion' is used as an example of Christ's protection, potentially alluding to David's story.

Now is Paul saying that had he not stood with me and so superintended the mind, and the judgment of those in the tribunal, I would have been condemned to death there and sent to the lions in the arena? Possibly. But I rather think, with his mind steeped in his Bible, that what the apostle could well be doing, I'm not prepared to die for this, but when you read those words and you're familiar at all with a well-known shepherd in the Old Testament, you can't help but wonder, is there a connection? Turn back to 1 Samuel, chapter 17.

30:42 - 31:23 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin develops Christ's role as protector, returning to Psalm 23 and John 10, where the shepherd is armed and willing to lay down his life for the sheep. He uses Paul's testimony…

David's account in 1 Samuel 17 of protecting his sheep from a lion and a bear is used as a powerful Old Testament example of a shepherd's protective commitment, paralleling Christ's role.

You remember that great, overgrown, steroid, pumped-up military man called Goliath was standing out there flexing his lats and his pecs and his biceps and triceps and all the rest, and bellowing out all of this blasphemous language. And it begs you to understand that he was not a man of the law. He was a man of the law. He was David's soul, and he said, who is this Philistine dude?

31:32 - 31:58 Read in full sermon

The point: Be convinced and act faith in the reality that the enthroned Christ is your constant companion.

The etymology of the word 'companion' (from Latin 'com' and 'bread') is used to illustrate the deep intimacy and mutuality of Christ's companionship with his people.

Well, then thirdly, if we would be stable, if we would face the turbulent seas of our lives and by God's grace ride them through, steady as she goes, straight to our heavenly port on another shore, then we must be, as God's people, convinced and act faith in the reality that the enthroned Christ is not only our guide and our protector, but the enthroned Christ is our companion, our companion. Now, wanting to make sure that that was the right word, next to my Bible, I took out the book that I use the most, my dictionary. And I found out something I never knew, common word companion. You know wh...

36:53 - 37:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate communion with Christ as your companion, recognizing his presence within you by the Holy Spirit.

Martin references Dr. Hugh Martin's book, 'The Abiding Presence,' to explain the profound significance of Christ's promised presence when combined with his historical biography.

That in his ministry to us, we have Christ with us, as well as Christ in us. A number of years ago, it fell into my hands a book that I wish were a lot more popular, called, The Abiding Presence, by Dr. Hugh Martin, a Scottish preacher, theologian of another generation. And I shall never forget the first time I read the opening chapter of this book.

41:43 - 42:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Defining 'companion' as one with whom you share bread, Martin explains Christ's companionship through the Holy Spirit, who mediates Christ's living presence. He uses Hugh Martin's…

The experience of reading biographies of figures like Whitefield and Spurgeon, which evokes a sense of holy nostalgia and disappointment that one cannot meet them, is used to illustrate what it would be like if we only had Christ's biography without his abiding presence.

it would be deeply frustrating. What do you feel when you read the biography of mighty man of God, such as Whitefield, and Spurgeon, and some of the other worthies? You feel a sense of loss. Oh God, that I could have heard him preach just once, just once.

46:04 - 46:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate personal, intimate, warm, and even verbal communication with the Lord Jesus as your companion.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of talking to Jesus verbally when his wife is away, illustrating the practical cultivation of communion with Christ as a constant companion.

That the Christ who is upon his throne is the Christ who is not only with me as guide and protector, but as my constant companion. I can cultivate personal, intimate, warm, and if nobody else is around, even verbal communication with the Lord Jesus. I miss it. I miss my wife something terrible when she's gone.

50:18 - 50:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Talk to Jesus about mundane concerns, like finding lost keys, trusting his knowledge and help.

The example of praying to Jesus to find lost keys illustrates how believers can commune with Christ about even mundane concerns, recognizing him as a present and helpful companion.

For a slave doesn't know what his master does. I call you friends. I'm going to disclose my heart to you. Is it fanaticism when you've mislaid your keys and don't know where they are?

51:17 - 51:30 Read in full sermon