[0:00] Well as you know this evening we are continuing our study of John Bunyan's pilgrims progress. And over the past couple of weeks we've walked with Christian.
[0:11] We've walked with Christian from the city of destruction and we've reached the wicked gate. And what we've witnessed is that when this graceless sinner discovered a book which is the Bible, when he discovered it, it was a book that would change his life.
[0:27] Because he realised that his righteousness was as filthy rags in God's sight and that he had this increasing burden of sin growing upon his back. And this brought him, as you remember, it brought him to the end of himself where he was crying, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved?
[0:46] And as a lost and graceless sinner he needed deniction. He needed discipleship, which he found when he met evangelist. And like a good pastor and preacher evangelist he pointed graceless in the right direction.
[1:00] Evangelist pointed into the distance and said, do you see yonder wicked gate? Go up directly there. And when you see the gate and when you knock you'll be told what to do.
[1:14] And that's where we left Christian last week. We left him at the wicked gate. We left him being directed by good will to go to the house of the interpreter.
[1:25] But as we said before, it was when graceless took his first step of faith and fled from the city of destruction. That was the moment where he was confessing that he was in Christ and that in Christ and Christ alone was life, life, eternal life.
[1:42] And you know it was from that point onwards that Bunyan he refers to his pilgrim as Christian. Of course Christian, he didn't know that he was a Christian by that point, but he was a Christian.
[1:56] Because even though he would have distractions from obstinate and pliable, even though he would have disappointment in the slough of despondent, even though he would be diverted away from the narrow path by Mr. Worley Wiseman, yet Christian, he continued in the direction of the wicked gate because he had been effectually called.
[2:18] And as we said, Christian didn't know that he was a Christian by this point, because he still had this burden of guilt upon his back and he hadn't yet come to the cross. We'll see that God willing next week.
[2:29] He hadn't come to the cross openly confessing Jesus Christ as his saviour and Lord. But you know, I believe that by this point Christian had been born again.
[2:41] He had been regenerated. He had been effectually called by the Holy Spirit. And this is what's interesting because the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Catechisms, both the larger and the shorter, they had only been in print for about 20 years prior to Bunyan writing the pilgrim's programme.
[3:03] And it's in the opening chapters of the pilgrim's progress that Bunyan, you could say that in these opening chapters, he's describing the Christian's experience of effectual calling.
[3:15] Because the Catechism, the shorter Catechism, it teaches us in question 31 that effectual calling is a work of God's spirit, whereby he convinces us of our sin and misery. He enlightens our minds in the knowledge of Christ.
[3:30] He renews our will and does persuade us and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ as he's freely offered to us in the Gospel. And I believe that it's this work of the Holy Spirit in effectual calling that Bunyan is describing here as Christian arrives at the house of the interpreter.
[3:51] Now, we always have to remember that pilgrim's progress is a dream, which means that a lot of what we witness in the book doesn't take place in our experience physically, but it does take place in our experience spiritually.
[4:07] And I say that because what Christian experiences as he leaves the Wicked Gate and walks up to the interpreter's house is what every Christian experiences when the Holy Spirit is working in their life.
[4:22] Because, you know, no one can be saved without the work of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes we're not actually aware that it's the Holy Spirit working until later on.
[4:34] And so now that Christian is, he's through the Wicked Gate, he's come to the realisation that the Christian life, it's not a fast fix. It's not about following worldly wisdom or legalism or moralism.
[4:46] The Christian life he's discovered is not a broad road, it's a narrow road, it's a narrow path, and it's a pilgrimage of perseverance. It's a pilgrimage of perseverance. And that's why Goodwill has now directed Christian to the interpreter's house.
[5:02] Because it's at the interpreter's house that Christian will count the cost of following Jesus. It's at the interpreter's house that Christian will count the cost of following Jesus.
[5:16] And it's at the interpreter's house that the Holy Spirit will be working in the heart and life of Christian to make him think about what it means to follow Jesus.
[5:27] So let's follow Christian to the interpreter's house. Bunyan writes in the Pilgrim's Progress, he says, When Christian went on till he came to the house of the interpreter, where he knocked over and over, at last one came to the door and asked who was there.
[5:45] Sir, said Christian, here is a traveller who was bid by a friend of the good man of this house to call here for his benefit. I would therefore speak with the master of the house.
[5:56] So the man he called for the master of the house, who after a little time came to Christian and said, come in. I will show thee that which will be profitable to thee.
[6:08] Now I want to say from the outset that the interpreter is the Holy Spirit. Because that's how Jesus described the Holy Spirit as we read in John chapter 14.
[6:19] Jesus said, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I have said to you.
[6:32] Jesus said that the role and the responsibility of the Holy Spirit is to use the Bible, which has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. He's to use it to teach us what it means to follow Jesus and to bring to our remembrance all that Jesus has said.
[6:48] And so the Holy Spirit, he is the helper, he's the counsellor, he's the comforter, he's the interpreter. And that's what we see happening in this section of the pilgrim's progress.
[7:02] Because by reading the book in his hand, Christian has not only gained a burden upon his back, but he's also become bewildered. He's become puzzled and perplexed about his journey towards the celestial city.
[7:17] But as Christian enters the interpreter's house, the interpreter, he will begin to bring clarity to Christian's confusion.
[7:28] The interpreter will take Christian around his house. He'll give him a tour of seven rooms in his house. And these seven rooms, they are seven illustrations that help us to understand how we know when the Holy Spirit is working in our life.
[7:47] These seven rooms are seven illustrations of how we know that the Holy Spirit is working in our life. So let's follow Christian around the interpreter's house as we come to door number one.
[8:01] Door number one. Behind door number one was a painting or a portrait. And Bunyan, he writes, Christian saw the picture of a very grave person hung up against the wall.
[8:15] And he says, he had eyes lifted to heaven, the best of books in his hand, the law of truth was written upon his lips, the world was behind his back. He stood as if he pleaded with men and there was a crown of gold that hung over his head.
[8:32] And like he does with every room that he enters in the interpreter's house, Christian asks the interpreter, what does this mean? Of course, the reason Christian asked such a question is because the role and the responsibility of the Holy Spirit is to teach us what it means to follow Jesus.
[8:52] And with that, the interpreter, he explains that the portrait is only one of a thousand in his house. But he has shown Christian this room first because the man in the picture is the one whom the Lord has chosen to be your guide to help you along the path.
[9:12] It's a portrait of evangelist. It's a portrait of a gospel preacher. It's a portrait of a minister. You know, in Bunyan's mind, it would have been a portrait of the godly Mr. Gifford, who was the pastor and preacher in Bedford.
[9:29] He was the man who directed and discipled Bunyan in those early years of his Christian pilgrimage. But you know, what Bunyan is reminding us is that when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our life, the preacher becomes important.
[9:46] Now, there's nothing special about the preacher. He's just a jar of clay like everyone else. But when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our life, the preacher, he somehow becomes important in many ways.
[10:00] The preacher is important because through him, there's the outward call of the gospel, which is when the preacher preaches the gospel. That's the outward call of the gospel.
[10:13] It's the free offer of the gospel. But that outward call of the gospel, it will remain ineffectual until the Holy Spirit makes it effectual.
[10:24] You know, it doesn't matter how intelligent or how eloquent or how passionate a preacher is, his message is ineffectual until the Holy Spirit makes it effectual.
[10:37] And when the Holy Spirit makes that outward call of the gospel, when he makes it an inward effectual call, a change begins to take place. In which the Holy Spirit, he makes the reading of God's word, but also the preaching of God's word.
[10:54] He makes it effectual. And the thing is, it's not that the preacher has changed in any way, and it's not that the preacher has somehow improved in his preaching. It's that the Holy Spirit is now working.
[11:08] And like it was for Bunyan with Mr. Gifford, and like it was for Christian with evangelist, when the Holy Spirit begins to work in the life of a sinner, the preacher becomes important.
[11:20] Because the preacher, he's not only a man as Bunyan saw, as Christian saw in the portrait, he's not only a man with the word of God in his hands and the truth upon his lips and a burden for lost souls in his heart.
[11:33] It's more than that. Because when the Holy Spirit begins to work in the life of a sinner, you're almost convinced that the preacher somehow knows you.
[11:45] You know, I remember that experience myself. It's as if the preacher can read your mind. He knows what's going on in your heart. It's like he knows what you're thinking as he preaches.
[11:57] But the truth is, he doesn't have a clue. He doesn't have a clue what's going on in your heart of what you're thinking, because that's all a work of the Holy Spirit. And my friend, you can be assured that the Holy Spirit is working in your life tonight, because if you're listening like you weren't listening before, and if you have a desire and an interest for the things that are being spoken of, that wasn't there before.
[12:23] If you have a care and a concern for your soul and your sin, that wasn't there before, then these are marks, their evidences that the Holy Spirit is at work in your life.
[12:38] And so that's what was behind door number one. But then Christian was taken to look behind door number two. So door number two. We're told that then the interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him into a very large parlor.
[12:54] It was full of dust, because it was never swept. And after a little while, the interpreter called for a man to sweep the parlor. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust began to fly about and Christian almost choked.
[13:07] Then said the interpreter to a girl that stood nearby, bring hither water and sprinkle it, sprinkle the room. When she had done that, the room was swept and cleansed with ease.
[13:20] So behind door number two is the outworking of Christians effectual calling by the Holy Spirit. Because as we said, effectual calling is a work of God's spirit, whereby he convinces us of our sin and misery.
[13:37] And that's what Christian experiences here, because when he asks, what does this mean? The interpreter explains to Christian, he says, the thick dust in the room is his sin.
[13:49] And like dust, it just lies there, it collects and grows until it's disturbed. But the dust of sin is only disturbed when the Holy Spirit begins to work in the life of a sinner, as they read the book in their hand.
[14:04] Because containing that book is the law. And by the work of the Holy Spirit, the law becomes active and the sinner becomes convinced, convinced of their fallen and lost state.
[14:17] They become convinced of their sin and their misery in the sight of a holy God. They become convinced as if they were to die in their condition. They would spend an eternity in hell.
[14:29] They become convinced that they're lost, that they're in ruin and in need of a remedy. But Christian is then told that when the dust of sin is disturbed by the brush of the law, by sweeping and creating this cloud, that can almost choke a sinner, we're told that the Holy Spirit reminds the sinner that the book in their hand contains not only the brush of the law, but also the water of the Gospel.
[15:00] And like the girl who sprinkled the room with water and cleaned it with ease, when all the Gospel promises of God's Word are effectually applied by the Holy Spirit, do you know they bring salvation, safety, surety and security to the sinner?
[15:20] When the Gospel promises of God's Word, when that water of the Gospel is effectually applied by the Holy Spirit, it brings salvation and safety and surety and security to the life of a sinner.
[15:36] Do you know my friend, it's Anna Y. Jesus holds out the Gospel promise to us, where he says in Matthew 11, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
[15:49] Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
[16:01] So then we turn to door number three in the interpreter's house. Door number three. The interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him into a little room, with or sat two little children, each one in his own chair.
[16:16] The name of the eldest was passion, the name of the other was patience. Passion seemed to be much discontented, but patience was very quiet.
[16:27] So behind door number three was in many ways a playroom, a playroom with twin brothers. Just like Jacob and Esau, they were twin brothers and they were very different to each other, because passion wanted everything now, but patience was content to wait for it.
[16:45] And again, Christian asks the interpreter, what does this mean? And the interpreter responds by saying these two lads are picture. Passion represents those who are only focused upon this world, but patience represents those who have an eternal perspective upon the world, which is to come.
[17:06] Passion wants everything now and he's not content to wait for it. Passion wants satisfaction and safety and security now. Passion wants fun and fitness and finance and flirting now.
[17:19] Passion wants appreciation and admiration and authorization now. He wants it all now. And his interpreter explains, passion lives by the proverb.
[17:31] He lives by the proverb, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And that proverb he says is of more weight to him than all the promises of the Bible.
[17:43] But you know what passions fails to see is that all of what he has in this world will fall and fade and faint and fail.
[17:56] It will all disappear. Patience. Patience doesn't live like passion, because patience has an eternal perspective.
[18:07] Passion doesn't see that everything in his life is going to to faint and fail, but patience, he has this eternal perspective. Patience lives life and loves life and looks at life with an eternal perspective.
[18:22] And you know, this is another evidence of what happens when the Holy Spirit is working in the life of a sinner. Because when the Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, you come to the realization that the passions and the pursuits of this world, they're meaningless.
[18:40] They're vanity. They're empty. They're futile without Jesus. And when you see that, you're left asking yourself, well, what's the point of life?
[18:51] What's it all about? Why are we here? You know, I asked myself those questions at the age of 18, because despite having everything, I felt I had nothing.
[19:03] I felt that something was missing in my life. Of course, that something was someone. It was Jesus. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was the Holy Spirit working in my life.
[19:17] And you know, maybe for you, my friend, the Holy Spirit is working in your life because you're asking the same questions. You're seeing the vanity of this world and you're asking, well, what's it all about?
[19:28] What's the point of life? Why are we here? And you know, if you're asking these questions tonight, all I can say to you is, you will never find satisfaction or safety or security until you come to trust in Jesus Christ.
[19:47] So you come and trust in Him. Then the interpreter, he takes us or take to Christian to door number four. Door number four, the interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him into a place where there was a fire burning against a wall.
[20:04] And standing by it was someone always casting water upon it to quench it. Yet the fire did burn higher and hotter. Again, Christian asked, what does this mean?
[20:16] And the interpreter explains that this fire, which is brightly burning, higher and hotter, it's what happens when God the Holy Spirit works in the heart of a sinner.
[20:27] He says their heart warms and it's kindled and it's a flame because the Spirit is working through the reading and the preaching and the discussing of God's word.
[20:38] There's this warmth because of Christian fellowship. You know, it's just like the two on the road to Emmaus, their experience when they met with Jesus and Jesus, he expounded and explained the scriptures to them.
[20:52] But it was only a reflection of their fellowship with Jesus that they said, did not our heart burn within us as he walked with us on the way and opened up unto us the scriptures.
[21:04] But then the interpreter, he goes on, he goes on to explain that the one throwing water on the brightly burning heart of a Christian is the devil. Because the devil's desire is to extinguish the fire and he tries to put out that fire in our heart.
[21:21] He tries to quench that fire. And you know, my friend, you know how often is that the case where you have such a great time of fellowship with the Lord's people or you've been reading the Bible and you feel the Lord so close to you and you don't want it to end because you know that when it does, the devil is just there trying to smother you and suffocate the fire in your heart.
[21:46] But you know, the interpreter, he doesn't leave it there because he takes Christian around the other side of the fireplace and he shows him the reason why the fire never goes out.
[21:57] We read, so then the interpreter led Christian about the other side of the wall where he saw a man with a vessel of oil in his hand, off the witch, he did also continually cast, but secretly into the fire.
[22:12] And again, Christian, he asked a question, what does this mean? And the interpreter says to Christian, this is Christ. This is Christ who continually with the oil of his grace helps the work already begun in the heart.
[22:29] My friend, if the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, then you will have obstacles, you will have opposition. But you know, the great assurance of God's Word is greater as he who is in you than he who is in the world.
[22:46] The promise is, if God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
[23:02] No, says Paul. I am persuaded. I am persuaded that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Because neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[23:25] You know, we will have opposition, we will have obstacles and they will come from the devil. But all the time Christ is there, pouring the oil of his grace onto our burning heart.
[23:40] So that is door number four. This brings us to door number five. Door number five. The interpreter then took Christian and led him up toward the door of a palace.
[23:51] And we're told that, behold, at the door stood a great company of men as desirous to go in. They wanted to go in, but they didn't. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door at a table side with a book in his and his ink horn before him to take the name of him that should enter therein.
[24:11] He saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour to guard it, being resolved to do to the men that would enter whatever hurt and mischief they could. You know, what Bunyan illustrates to us here is the need for commitment.
[24:28] As many of you know, my favourite word is commitment, because I believe that commitment is what's needed in the Christian life, not only at the beginning, but also all the way to the end. We need commitment.
[24:42] And as Bunyan illustrates here, he says the Christian life is a battle and it's a battle from beginning to end. But he says when the Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, he brings you to a point where you know that you need to make a commitment.
[24:59] You know that you need to, as it were, sign up for battle. That's why that man was sitting there at the gate with his pen and his paper. What Christian witnessed there was that people were coming to the gate, but yet they were turning back from signing up for battle.
[25:20] They were reaching so far, but when it came to commitment and signing up for the battlefield, they turned back. But we're told that there was one who didn't turn back.
[25:33] We read that Christians saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, Set down my name, sir. Though which when he had done, he saw the man draw a sword and put a helmet upon his head and rushed towards the door upon the armed men who laid upon him with deadly force. But the man, not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely.
[25:59] So then after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, he cut his way through them all and pressed forward into the palace, at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within, even of those that walked on the top of the palace saying, Come in, come in, eternal glory, thou shalt win.
[26:23] You know, we reflected only recently that there were many soldiers who signed up for the two World Wars, and when they did, they were signing their death warrant.
[26:35] And you know, thinking about it, well, in a spiritual sense, commitment to Jesus Christ is like signing up for warfare. It's not come to Jesus and be happy. It's not come to Jesus and all your problems will disappear.
[26:50] It's come to Jesus and you're signing up for battle. You're signing up for battle. And you know, that's why Paul encouraged the Christians in Ephesus when he said, he said to them, You've begun this, this Christian walk. So put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wills of the devil.
[27:11] Because he says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day.
[27:31] You know, there was an English Puritan in the 17th century called John Geary. John Geary. And he wrote a short tract in 1646, which was just before Bunyan was converted.
[27:45] And it was a tract called the character of an old English Puritan, the character of an old English Puritan. Have a read of it. It's very short because in a John Geary, he describes how a Puritan should live their life in this world.
[28:03] But as you read the tract, John Geary, he brings the tract to an end by concluding with the words that describe the Christian.
[28:14] He says about the Christian, his whole life is accounted a warfare, where in Christ is his captain, the cross is his banner, and his motto is Vincent qui patateur.
[28:29] I'll read that again. He says, his whole life is accounted a warfare, where in Christ is his captain, the cross is his banner, and his motto is Vincent qui patateur, which means he who suffers, conquer. He who suffers, conquer.
[28:48] And of course, what Bunyan and also John Geary, what they were drawing upon is what Paul said, that it's through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God.
[29:02] It's not come to Jesus and be happy. It's come to Jesus and take up your armor. Sign up for the battlefield because it's through much tribulation that you will enter the kingdom of God.
[29:16] This now brings us to door number six. Door number six. The interpreter took Christian by the hand again and led him into a very dark room where there sat a man in an iron cage.
[29:27] Now the man to look on seemed very sad, we're told. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his heart. Then Christian said as he did before, what does this mean?
[29:41] But instead of answering Christian, the interpreter encourages Christian to speak to this man in the iron cage himself. So Christian asks him, who are you?
[29:52] And all he says is, I'm not what I once was. Christian says, then what were you once? And the man says, I was once a fair and flourishing Christian, both in my own eyes and also in the eyes of others.
[30:06] I was once as I thought fair for the celestial city and had even joy at the thoughts that I should get there. And then Christian asks, well, what are you now? And he responds saying, I am now a man of despair and I am shut up in it as in this iron cage and I cannot get out.
[30:27] I cannot get out. And Christian asks, how did you come to this condition? He says, I left off to watch and be sober. I gave free reign to sin.
[30:38] I sinned against the light of the word and the goodness of God. I have grieved the spirit and he is gone. I tempted the devil and he has come to me. I have provoked God to anger and he has left me.
[30:49] I have so hardened my heart that I cannot turn. You know, it's a solemn and sobering illustration. But what I believe Banyan is doing with this is actually showing us the anxieties and the worries that someone has when the Holy Spirit begins to work in their life.
[31:11] And I say that because, you know, when I speak to people about their need of confession and commitment to Jesus Christ, they often say to me, what if I don't last? What if I start following the Lord, but then I fall away?
[31:28] What if I make a confession and a commitment, but then later on I let Jesus down? What if I profess my faith and become a member in the church, but then I bring the name of Christ into disrepute?
[31:43] And you know, what Banyan describes here is brilliant because like many who worry and are anxious about making a confession and a commitment to the Saviour, he describes that they almost lock themselves up in an iron cage unable to get out.
[32:01] But my friend, what the man in the iron cage needed to be reminded of and maybe what you need to be reminded of as someone who's worried and anxious about committing and confessing to Jesus Christ, what you need to be reminded of is that there is hope. There is hope.
[32:18] You know, the man in the iron cage was locked up because he thought that there was no hope. He had lost sight of hope. But you know, when you make a confession and a commitment to Jesus Christ, your hope is sure and steadfast.
[32:37] Your hope is as your Bible affirms to you. It is the anchor of your soul. Your hope is sure and steadfast because it is the anchor of your soul.
[32:51] My friend, you may question yourself. You may question your fitness to become a Christian. You may question how genuine you are and you're asking Jesus to save you.
[33:02] And you may ask like the hymn writer did, will your anchor hold in the storms of life when the clouds unfold their wings of strife when the strong tides lift in the cable strain?
[33:14] Will your anchor hold or firm remain? You may ask yourself these questions, but you know, the testimony of all the Lord's people who place their hope and confidence in Jesus Christ, it's the same testimony as the hymn writer where he said, we have an anchor that keeps the soul.
[33:36] Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love.
[33:47] Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love, my friend, your hope is sure and steadfast. It is the anchor of your soul.
[33:58] Well said Christian, this is fearful. God helped me to watch and be sober and to pray that I may shun the cause of this man's misery. Sir, is it no time for me to be going on my way?
[34:11] You know my friend, I like Christian, I feel I've kept you long enough, but stay with me. There's just one more door, door number seven, door number seven.
[34:23] So the interpreter, he took Christian by the hand again and led him into a chamber where there was one rising out of bed. And as he put on his clothing, he shook and trembled.
[34:35] Then said Christian, why does this man tremble? The interpreter then bid this man to tell Christian what had happened. So he said this night, as I was in my sleep, I dreamed.
[34:47] And behold, the heavens grew exceedingly black, also it thundered and lightened in most fearful manner that had put me into an agony. So I looked up at my dream and I saw the clouds rack at an unusual rate, upon which I heard a great sound of a trumpet and saw also a man sitting upon a cloud, attended with the thousands of heaven, they were all in flaming fire, also the heavens were a burning flame.
[35:15] I heard then a great voice saying, arise ye dead and come to judgment. For this man, his dream was a nightmare, because he saw the day of judgment.
[35:31] And he saw everyone being called to the judgment seat of Christ to give an account. And he witnessed in his dream that great separation between the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares.
[35:45] He witnessed the separation that will take place on the last day. But what terrified this man the most is that when the judgment came, he said, I wasn't ready for it.
[36:00] I wasn't ready for it. And you're my friend, what Bunyan is reminding us here is the urgency of the Gospel, because the Spirit may be striving with you tonight.
[36:14] But that doesn't mean you can put off committing your life and confessing Jesus as your Saviour. The Spirit may be striving with you.
[36:25] But my friend, now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. That's why Jesus says to us in the Gospel, therefore be ye ready, for at an hour when you think not, the Son of Man will come.
[36:44] You need to be ready. My friend, if the interpreter is speaking to you this evening, if the Holy Spirit is working in your life, then you must respond and you must respond in faith and commitment.
[36:57] You must respond with Confession of Sin and Confession of the Son and commitment to the Saviour. You must respond by embracing Jesus Christ as he's freely offered to you in the Gospel.
[37:11] He's freely offered to you in the Gospel. But I love the way that chapter two concludes. We're told that the interpreter just says to Christian, has to consider these things.
[37:25] Christian said, yes, they put me in hope and fear. Well said the interpreter. Keep these things in thy mind, that they may be as a goat in thy sides to prick thee forward in the way that thou must go.
[37:40] Then Christian began, we're told, he began to gird up his loins and to address himself to his onward journey. And the interpreter said, the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, he is always with thee, good Christian, to guide thee in the way that leads to the city.
[38:00] He is with thee to guide thee in the way that leads to the city. And so God willing, next Lord's Day, we'll walk with Christian a little further.
[38:12] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us, and let us pray together. O Lord our gracious God, we give thanks to thee this evening for that wonderful reminder of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
[38:28] We marvel that he does work in the hearts and lives of sinners, in convincing us of our sin and misery, in enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, in even renewing our will and persuading us and enabling us to embrace this Jesus, who is freely offered to us in the Gospel.
[38:48] Help us Lord, we pray, O to come in confession and commitment of Jesus, to commit our lives to him not only tonight, but every day, every day committing ourselves to this Saviour who loved us and gave himself for us.
[39:06] And Lord if we have drifted, if we have wandered away from thee, O Lord we pray that we would come and commit ourselves again, that we would commit ourselves afresh to loving the Lord more faithfully, to walking with him more closely, to serving him more diligently, O do us good and we pray, go before us, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.
[39:33] Well we're going to bring our service to a conclusion by singing the words of Sam 149. Sam 149 and we're singing in the Scottish Psalter and we're singing from verse 2 down to the verse Mark 4.
[39:48] Sam 149 from verse 2, Let Israel in his maker joy and to him praises sing, Let all that Zion's children are be joyful in their king, O let them unto his great name give praises in the dance, Let them with timberland, with harp and songs his praise advance, For God doth pleasure take in those that his own people be, And he with his salvation the meek will beautify.
[40:17] These verses of Sam 149 to God's praise.
[40:47] Let Israel in his maker joy and to him praises sing, Let all that Zion's children are be joyful in their king, O let them unto his great name give praises in the dance, Let them with timberland, with harp and songs his praise advance, For God doth pleasure take in those that his own people be, And he with his salvation the meek will beautify.