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5 Sermon Illustrations on Dependence on Christ

5 illustrations

Dependence on Christ emphasizes the believer's continual need for Jesus' sustaining power and presence, recognizing that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Illustrations often use everyday objects reliant on external support, highlighting our utter reliance on Christ's strength and guidance.

Held by Christ

We cannot stand spiritually unless Christ holds us firmly.

A minister traveling on a train in Europe was the sole occupant of a compartment, save for a young man reading a newspaper. The youth was also a Christian, but so weak was his faith, and so many were his temptations, that he told the minister he did not think he would be able to stand life a week longer. The minister took from his pocket a Bible and a penknife and said, "See, I will make this penknife stand up on the cover of this Bible, in spite of the rocking of the train." The young man, thinking that this was some conjuring trick, watched the proceeding with interest, saying, "I am afraid that it will not be very easy to do that , sir." "But," said the minister, "I am doing it." "Oh, but you are holding it," retorted his fellow passenger. "Why of course. Did you ever hear of a penknife standing up on its end without being held up?" "I see," was the young man's comment. "I see you mean to teach me that I cannot stand unless Christ holds me. Thank you for reminding me of that." The Source of Life It is said that Tennyson was walking one day in a beautiful flower garden when a friend said to him, "Mr. Tennyson, you speak so often of Jesus Christ. Will you tell me what Christ really means to your life?" Tennyson stooped and pointing to a beautiful yellow flower said, "What the sun is to the flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul."

Depend on the Control Center

Believers must depend on Christ as their firm control center in all their work.

A beautiful illustration of our dependence on a solidly established base while we are moving at a distance, is the journey of Apollo 11 to the moon. A space station in Houston, Texas, was the seat of command. The three spacemen dared not disregard it as they circled around the moon and as two of them landed on its surface. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians that any work they undertake must be based on the firmness, the absoluteness, the dependability of the Lord Jesus Christ. He arose. He did what He said He was going to do. He told us that we shall rise. That is our control center. We can depend on it. We dare not disregard it. It is a matter of life and death. As I was viewing this feat of man at the time Neil Armstrong was landing on the moon, I was impressed by the remark made by one news commentator, "These men cannot remain on the moon. They must follow instructions. They do not have only themselves to think of but also the entire project." Think of that, Christian, when you are tempted to act independently of the control center, Christ the Lord. You have not only yourself to think of, but also Christ and His Kingdom.

The Glass Without A Foot

We are powerless and unstable without Christ's sustaining hand in our lives.

"We derive all our strength from Christ. We are like glasses without feet; they cannot stand of themselves; neither can we." Such glasses are not ordinarily used now, but they were common enough in former times. A man must hold the glass in his hand, or it would be of no use to him, for he could not set it down on the table, since it could not stand alone, but rolled over, and spilt its contents. We are something in the hand of Jesus, but nothing out of it; we cannot even hold the water of life unless our Lord holds us. What poor creatures men are, and yet they dare to boast!

Christ, Need of

Believers need Christ in every aspect of life and trial for help and salvation.

"What think you of our need of the Lord Jesus?" said Gotthold. "For my part, my soul is like a hungry and thirsty child, and I need his love and consolations for my refreshment; I am a wandering and lost sheep, and I need him as a good and faithful shepherd; my soul is like a frightened dove pursued by the hawk, and I need his wounds for a refuge; I am a feeble vine, and I need his cross to lay hold of, and wind myself about; I am a sinner, and I need his righteousness; I am naked and bare, and need his holiness and innocence for a covering; I am in trouble and alarm, and I need his solace; I am ignorant, and I need his teaching; simple and foolish, and I need the guidance of his Holy Spirit: in no situation, and at no time, can I do without him. Do I pray? he must prompt and intercede for me. Am I arraigned by Satan at the divine tribunal? he must be my advocate. Am I in affliction? he must be my helper. Am I persecuted by the world? he must defend me. When I am forsaken, he must be my support; when dying, my life; when mouldering in the grave, my resurrection. Well, then, I will rather part with all the world, and all that it contains, than with thee, my Saviour; and, God be thanked! I know that thou, too, art neither able nor willing to do without me. Thou art rich, and I am poor; thou hast abundance, and I am needy; thou hast righteousness, and I sins; thou hast wine and oil, and I wounds; thou hast cordials and refreshments, and I hunger and thirst. Use me, then, my Saviour, for whatever purpose, and in whatever way, thou mayest require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with thy grace. Here is my sinful and troubled soul; quicken and refresh it with thy love. Take my heart for thine abode; my mouth to spread the glory of thy name; my love, and all my powers, for the advancement of thy honor, and the service of thy believing people; and never suffer the steadfastness and confidence of my faith to abate, that so at all times I may be enabled from the heart to say, 'Jesus needs me, and I him: and so we suit each other.'"

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster christ

Mediation, Acknowledged

Trusting in Christ's merit expresses our soul's dependence and vital spiritual connection to God.

"For Christ's sake," then, is only another expression for the great truth, that all our holy motions and emotions are dependent on him. "In Christ's name" is a recognition that God is manifest in his sacrifice for sin, and that it is in his mercy alone that we have hope. In all systems, there are two motions of subordinate bodies, one on their own axis, the other around the central orbit. So in the spiritual world: the soul is self-moved, and the regenerated soul moves likewise in its orbit of dependence upon God. To feel reliance on the merit of Christ, to trust in his name, is the expression of this actual relation. The man who does not feel it is dead. J. B. Walker.

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

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