[0:00] Well, if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this evening, if we could read again verses from Revelation chapter 7, Revelation chapter 7 and if we read the verses 13 and 14, Revelation chapter 7 and verse 13, where John writes, then one of the elders addressed me saying, Who are these clothed in white robes?
[0:26] And where have they come from? I said to him, Sare you know, and he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
[0:38] They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
[0:52] As you know this evening, we're coming to our destination in the pilgrims' prognosis. We're coming to the celestial city and we've been journeying with Christian over these past few months as we've walked with him.
[1:05] We've walked with him from the city of destruction and we've walked with him all the way to the celestial city. And as it is for every Christian who flees from the city of destruction, it's a difficult and sometimes a dangerous journey.
[1:22] But I hope that you've enjoyed this study of the pilgrims' progress. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. And I hope that you've gotten something out of it that has encouraged and enabled you either to commence or even to continue in the pilgrims' progress.
[1:39] But I want to say from the outset this evening that it's not over yet. And the good news is our study this evening is not over either.
[1:52] Because as many of you know, when John Bunyan wrote the pilgrims' progress, he wrote it in two parts. Part one, which we're concluding this evening, is based upon Christian's experience of the pilgrims' progress.
[2:08] But part two, which is the more lesser known story of the pilgrims' progress, it's the story of Christian's wife, Christiana, and their four children.
[2:20] Not many people have read part two. I've never read part two, which is why I'd like to study it with you in the coming weeks. We're going to go into part two, God willing, next Lord's Day.
[2:34] But this evening we're standing with Christian and hopeful on the threshold of eternity. The celestial city is in sight and it's been a difficult and dangerous journey along the King's Highway, but for Christian and hopeful, they're nearly home.
[2:52] You remember how we fled from the city of destruction. You remember this journey that we've taken with Christian, how we fled with him from the city of destruction. We were delivered from the slough of despond.
[3:04] We crossed over the threshold of the wicked gate. We explored the interpreter's house. We stood at the cross and the burden rolled off our back.
[3:14] We then persevered up the hill called difficulty. We lodged for a few days at the palace, beautiful. Then we descended into the valley of humiliation to fight with Apollyon.
[3:25] And then we progressed into another valley, the valley of the shadow of death. And then we walked with Christian and faithful as they enjoyed friendship and fellowship with one another.
[3:36] And they also came to the town of Vanity. And it was there in Vanity Fair that faithful was martyred and then hopeful appeared.
[3:46] And it was with Christian and hopeful that we experienced the dark dungeon of Doubting Castle. We enjoyed the delights last week on the delectable mountains.
[3:57] And now as we reach our journey's end, we're about to enter the gates of the celestial city. But before we do, we see that Christian and hopeful, they encounter three more things along the king's highway.
[4:16] They encounter an ironic rejection, an intervening river, and an ignorant religion. They encounter an ironic rejection, an intervening river, and an ignorant religion.
[4:35] So first of all, an ironic rejection, an ironic rejection. Now you remember last week that just before Christian and hopeful continued on their journey beyond the delectable mountains, you remember how they had met four shepherds, four shepherds called Knowledge, Experience, Watchful and Sincer.
[4:56] And these four shepherds, they took Christian and hopeful to the top of a high hill called Clear. And from there, the shepherds, they showed Christian and hopeful, they showed them the gate to the celestial city and all its glory.
[5:11] And then just before these pilgrims parted company with the shepherds, we're told that Knowledge gave them directions. Experience said, Beware of the flatterer.
[5:23] Watchful warned them not to sleep upon the enchanted ground. And sincere bid them Godspeed. And as we saw last week, Christian and hopeful, they fell foul to the flatterer.
[5:38] When Satan appeared, he appeared us an angel of light. And Satan led both Christian and faithful Christian and hopeful, he led them away from the King's highway.
[5:49] And he trapped them in a net. And as we read, Christian and hopeful were then released and rebuked by the shining one, where they were urged to repent of their wrongdoing.
[6:04] But as they continued on their journey towards the celestial city, we see that Bunyan writes, he says, now after a while, they perceived a far off one coming softly along the highway to meet them.
[6:16] Then Christian said to hopeful, Yonder is a man with his back towards the celestial city and he's coming to meet us. I see him said hopeful, let's be careful, lest he should prove to be a flatterer also.
[6:33] So the man through nearer and nearer, at last he came up to Christian and hopeful. And his name was atheist. And he asked them where they were going.
[6:44] And Christian and hopeful, they explained to atheists that they were Christian pilgrims and they were traveling towards the celestial city. But atheist, he responded in a manner similar to many others like him.
[6:58] He began laughing at them. And he began laughing at them because in his own words, atheists said, I laugh because I see what ignorant people you are to take so tedious a journey and yet are likely to get nothing for your travel but pains.
[7:19] And as atheists went on to explain, he had been studying the world and searching for the celestial city for the past 20 years, but found nothing.
[7:30] And because the atheist found nothing, he believed that there was nothing. Because as he says, if there had been such a place as the celestial city, I would have surely found it by now.
[7:45] I would have surely found it by now. But you know, it's an ironic rejection. It's an ironic rejection that atheist would regard Christian and hopeful as ignorant.
[8:01] But that's the claim of the atheist, whether with Bunyan in the 17th century or with us in the 20th century. The claim of the atheist is an ironic rejection that they would regard the Christian as ignorant.
[8:16] Because the atheist states like this, atheists stated to Christian and hopeful, they just say, I've been studying the world through the prism of science for decades.
[8:27] And I still haven't found any evidence for God. You know, there's one atheist I always feel sorry for.
[8:38] And every time I see him or every time I hear his voice on the TV, you know, I'm always left praying for him. I'm praying that the Lord would open his eyes to see the Christ behind the creation.
[8:51] The atheist I'm referring to is Sir David Attenborough, who, as you know, he's a BBC broadcaster, he's a natural historian, he's been on our TV screens for the best part of 70 years.
[9:05] And now at the age of nearly 95, his most recent TV series, I don't know if you've seen it on BBC iPlayer, it's called The Perfect World.
[9:17] The Perfect World. And when you watch the Perfect Planet, when you watch The Perfect Planet, it reveals the beauty and glory of creation.
[9:29] But you know, what David Attenborough fails to see is the beauty and glory of the creator behind it. He sees the creation, but not the creator. He sees the art, but not the artist.
[9:41] He sees the building, but not the builder. And as an atheist, it's an ironic rejection because when you listen to David Attenborough, when you listen to him, he speaks as someone who seems so educated and so knowledgeable and so wise.
[9:58] And yet the Bible would call him an old fool on the threshold of eternity.
[10:10] The Bible would say that he's an old fool on the threshold of eternity. Sam 14 says, the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.
[10:23] The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. And like many an atheist who has spent all their life studying the creation, they might sound convincing.
[10:34] But as hopeful warned Christian about this atheist, he said, take heed. He is one of the flatterer. We are to walk by faith.
[10:45] Do not listen to any advice which would lead you astray from the words of knowledge, but let us believe to the saving of our souls.
[10:55] So Christian and hopeful, they turn away from atheists and they keep going until they come to the enchanted ground. And as we're told, the enchanted ground was an area in which the air made them drowsy.
[11:09] And with that, we read that hopeful began to feel dull and sleepy. He said to Christian, he said, I'm starting to grow so drowsy that I can scarcely hold my eyes open.
[11:21] Let us lay down here and take a nap. By no means said Christian, lest by sleeping, we may never wake again. And hopeful pleaded, he said, my brother, sleep is sweet to the laboring man.
[11:34] We may be refreshed if we take a nap. But Christian, he reminded his fellow pilgrim, he reminded, hopefully said, do you not remember that one of the shepherds warned us to beware of the enchanted ground?
[11:49] Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and watch. Let us keep awake and watch.
[12:00] And you know, even within the celestial city, even with it in sight, Banyan is reminding us that the enchanted ground is a place in which we must persevere through.
[12:16] Even with the celestial city in sight, we must persevere to the end. That's what Banyan is emphasizing to us, that we must keep watch. We must stay awake right to the end of the pilgrim's progress.
[12:31] We have to stay awake. Now I'm not sure that it's still the case, but sleeping while on duty or sleeping on the job, it's considered as an act of gross misconduct.
[12:45] And it has many grounds for disciplinary action. And in many ways, you know, that's what Banyan is reminding us here. He's reminding us that the Christian is not to be found asleep while on duty.
[12:59] And the Christian church is not to be caught sleeping on the job because it's an act of gross misconduct. It's an act of gross misconduct against the King and head of the church, Jesus Christ.
[13:14] In fact, when Jesus spoke about his second coming, he issued a warning to the church. He said in Matthew 24, he said, stay awake.
[13:26] For you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, know this that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
[13:42] Therefore says Jesus, you must also be ready for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect. And then we also read in John chapter nine.
[13:55] Jesus said, we must work the works of him while it is day because the night is coming when no one can work.
[14:06] Jesus said, we must work. We must work. He doesn't say I must work or the Holy Spirit must work or the minister must work.
[14:18] No, Jesus says, we as the church must work the works of him. We must work. The Christian must work.
[14:28] The disciple must work. The church must work. We must work. It's a must of necessity. It's an imperative for the church and for the Christian to wake up to wake up because our King and head Jesus Christ, he's reminding us that as long as we're in this world, we must work.
[14:53] We must work. You know, it was Steve Lawson who said, you may retire from your occupation and you may give up your day job.
[15:06] You may hang up your hat or put down your tools or leave your desk. But whilst you're here, whilst you're here, you have a work to do.
[15:18] Whilst you're here, you have a work to do. My friend, beware of the enchanted ground. Beware of the enchanted ground because even within the site of the celestial city, there's always that temptation to slow down and to fall asleep.
[15:35] And you know, even in this season that we're in with the church closed and everything online, you know, I fear, I fear that some of our elders, our deacons, our members in our congregation, I fear that they're drifting and dreaming on the enchanted ground.
[15:56] I fear that they're drifting and dreaming on the enchanted ground. But my friend, you know, if we're to imitate and emulate Jesus Christ, then we must be about our father's business.
[16:10] We must be committed to our father's business. We must be watchful. We must stay awake. We must work. That's what Jesus says. We must work.
[16:21] But you know, when you look at the pilgrim's progress, you have to ask the question, what was it that prevented Christian and hopeful from falling asleep in the enchanted ground?
[16:38] Fellowship. Hopeful, confessed to Christian. Had I been here alone, I would have slept and been in danger of death.
[16:51] Your company has been a mercy to me. Bunyan is reminding us again of the importance of fellowship. And you know, my friend, we all love fellowship, but at present we all lack fellowship.
[17:05] We all long for fellowship. Therefore we have to strive. We have to strive to make the most of the fellowship that's available to us so that it will prevent us from falling asleep on the enchanted ground before we reach an intervening river, which is what we see.
[17:30] Secondly, an intervening river. So we have an ironic rejection and then an intervening river, an intervening river.
[17:42] We're told that after Christian and hopeful had passed through the enchanted ground, they came into the country of Bula. And we're told that unlike the air in the enchanted ground, which made you drowsy, the air in the country of Bula was very sweet and pleasant.
[18:00] And Christian and hopeful, when they entered the country of Bula, they heard singing. The singing of birds. They saw flowers appearing and they heard the song of the turtle dove in the land.
[18:13] Now Bula was a country in which the sun shone night and day. And because it was beyond the valley of the shadow of death, because it was out of the reach of giant despair, they couldn't see Douting Castle anymore.
[18:29] They had this great assurance because they were now within sight of the celestial city to which they were traveling. Now the name of this country, Bula, it's an important name because it means married.
[18:46] The word Bula is Hebrew for married. And the passage which Bunyan is drawing our attention to is the passage of Isaiah chapter 62.
[19:00] It's a beautiful chapter about the salvation of the Lord's covenant people because it's in that chapter in Isaiah 62 that the Lord says about his people, about his covenant people.
[19:12] He says, you shall no more be called forsaken and your land shall no more be called desolate, but you shall be called my delight is in her and your land shall be called married or Bula for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be called married or Bula as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
[19:44] And that's what Bunyan describes as he writes about this country called Bula. He says, in this land the contract between the bride and the bridegroom is renewed.
[19:56] In the land of Bula, says Bunyan, the covenant promises of the Lord are renewed and reaffirmed because the promise, the covenant promise is a marriage agreement.
[20:08] And it's a marriage agreement where the Lord said to his people, I will be your God and you shall be my people. That's the marriage agreement, that's the covenant marriage.
[20:20] That's what Bula is. God's covenant promise and assurance to his people, I will be your God. You will be my people.
[20:31] And then we're told that as Christian and hopeful drew nearer to the celestial city, they could hear voices coming from within the city. They could hear shouting.
[20:41] They were shouting and people saying, say to the daughter of Zion, behold your salvation comes, behold his reward is with him.
[20:51] And as they came closer, they now had a perfect view of the celestial city. And Bunyan says that it was built with pearls and precious stones and the streets of the city were paved with pure gold.
[21:07] The gold streets were so bright that the sun reflected off them to the point that Christian and hopeful could only look at the celestial city through a glass darkly.
[21:18] Don't know how Paul described the Christians experience of the love of Christ. He said, now we see him through a glass darkly, but then we will see him face to face.
[21:37] So I saw in my dream writes Bunyan that Christian and hopeful went on together until they came within sight of the gate of the celestial city. But between the pilgrims and the gate of the celestial city was an intervening river, an intervening river.
[21:56] And as we're told, there was no bridge to pass over it. And the river was deep. And when Christian and hopeful saw that the intervening river were told that they were anxious and they asked, is there any other way to get to the gate?
[22:12] Well, there was another way. But only two people have been permitted to tread that path before. That was Elijah and Enoch, the two men in the Bible who never died.
[22:28] They were taken straight to heaven. And so Christian and hopeful were told, you must go through the river, the river, or you cannot enter at the gate.
[22:40] You must go through the river, or you cannot enter at the gate. And of course, the intervening river at the end of the pilgrims progress and at the gate of the celestial city, this intervening river was the river of death, the river of death.
[22:57] And at this Christian, he began to lose heart. And even upon entering the river, Christian began to sink. Christian, he cries out too hopeful as they're both in the river together.
[23:09] And he says, I'm sinking in deep waters. The billows are rolling over my head. All his waves are washing over me. The sorrows of death have compassed me about.
[23:21] I shall not see the land which flows with milk and honey. Bunyan says that there was this great darkness and horror that fell upon Christian so that he couldn't see ahead of him.
[23:33] Christian thought that he would just die in the river, that he would never obtain the entrance at the gate. And what Bunyan is reminding us in this dramatic scene is that death is an enemy.
[23:47] And death is the last enemy. And you know, death is out to destroy our help and our hope in Christ.
[24:00] But you know, Christ has defeated death. He has conquered the grave. He has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
[24:10] Death has been swallowed up in victory. And as a Christian pilgrim tonight, my friend, you can say that Christ stands over my grave.
[24:22] And he pronounces and proclaims to death, oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?
[24:33] Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh death, where is thy sting? Now, I know my friend, I know that death is a painful enemy.
[24:47] I know it leaves us with sores and scars. But the hope of the gospel is that in Christ and through Christ, death is a defeated enemy.
[25:03] And that's what hopeful sought to remind Christian in this intervening river of death. Hopeful said to Christian, brother, I see the gate.
[25:14] Men standing there, they're ready to receive us. But it's you, it's you they're waiting for, said Christian. It's you, you have been hopeful ever since I first knew you.
[25:26] Surely if I was right with him, then he would now arise to help me. But because of my sins, he has brought me into the snare and left me.
[25:36] But hopeful said to Christian, my brother, my brother, you've quite forgotten that these waters are no indication that God has forsaken you. Rather these waters are there to test you as to whether you will call to mind all that you have received of his goodness and lean upon him in your present distresses.
[25:57] And with that, we're told that Christian, he cried out with a loud voice. Oh, I see him. I see him again. And he tells me, he tells me, quoting Isaiah 43.
[26:11] Fear not, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
[26:24] When you go through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. You know, they're beautiful words, aren't they?
[26:36] Beautiful words of comfort and assurance. And after that, we're told that the enemy was as still as a stone and could no longer hinder them.
[26:51] Thus, they both crossed over the river. Now, upon the bank of the river on the other side, we're told that they saw two shining men who were waiting for them.
[27:05] And with that, Christian and hopeful, we're told that they left their mortal garments in the river. They left their mortal garments in the river, just as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15.
[27:17] This perishable body must put on the imperishable. And this mortal body must put on immortality. Christian and hopeful, they had their mortal garments removed.
[27:32] And then they were clothed, as we read in Revelation 7, they were clothed with those white robes. And you know, my friend, I love those verses in Revelation 7.
[27:47] I think they're some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. We're one of the 24 elders around the throne of God. He asks the apostle John. He asks him about this multitude that no man can number.
[28:02] He asks him, who are these? Who are these clothed in white robes? And where have they come from? And John says to him, sir, you know, and the elder says, yes, yes, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
[28:22] And they have washed their robes. They've made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and they serve him day and night in his temple.
[28:32] And he who sits upon the throne will shelter them. He will cover them with his presence and they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.
[28:47] And he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And you know, that's the image Bunyan gives to us as these two shining men lead Christian and hopeful to the top of the hill, right to the gate of the celestial city.
[29:07] And the two men say to them, when they're right at the gate, they say, this is Mount Zion. This is the heavenly Jerusalem. And they explain to them what's beyond the gate.
[29:20] They say to them, there you shall walk and talk with the King throughout the endless ages of eternity. There you shall never again see sorrow and sickness or affliction or death for the former things have passed away.
[29:34] There inside the gate, you will receive the comforts of all your toil and have joy for all your sorrow. There you will wear crowns of gold and enjoy perpetual in your perpetual sight, the vision of the Holy One.
[29:50] There you shall see him as he is. There you shall continually worship him with praise and thanksgiving. There, there, my friend, there you shall enjoy your family and friends again who have gone there before you.
[30:08] There you shall be clothed with glory and majesty. And so you will be with the Lord forever. That's what's beyond the gate.
[30:20] That's what's beyond the gate. And Bunyan writes, he says, while Christian and hopeful were drawing near towards the gate, behold, a company of heavenly hosts came out to meet them.
[30:33] Then each pilgrim handed their certificate that they had received at the beginning of their journey. These certificates were carried to the King. And when he had read them, it was said to the pilgrims, enter into the joy of your Lord.
[30:54] Then just as the gates were opened to let Christian and hopeful into the celestial city, Bunyan says, I looked in after them. And behold, the city had shone like the sun.
[31:06] The streets were paved with gold and on them walked many men with crowns on their heads, crown branches in their hands and golden harps to sing praises with.
[31:18] But after that, they closed the gates. And I wished that I myself was among them.
[31:30] I wished that I myself was among them. What about your desire tonight, saying like Bunyan about those in the celestial city, I wish that I myself was among them.
[31:50] But you know, that's not how Bunyan concluded part one of the pilgrims' progenies. And for that reason, that's not how I would like to conclude part one of the pilgrims' progenies.
[32:03] Because Bunyan writes, he writes something so solemn. He writes, while I was gazing upon all these things, I turned my head to look back.
[32:15] And I saw ignorance come up over the river. He soon got over the river and without half of the difficulty which Christian and hopeful met with. For it happened that one called Vain Hope, a ferryman, he was there.
[32:30] And with his boat, he helped ignorance cross the river. And my friend, I'd like to conclude by considering this man ignorance, because he had an ignorant religion.
[32:45] He had an ignorant religion. We've seen an ironic rejection, an intervening river. But then lastly, an ignorant religion, an ignorant religion.
[32:59] You know, Christian and hopeful, they first met ignorance after they had descended from the delectable mountains. And ignorance was from the country, we're told, the country of conceit.
[33:10] And as Bunyan describes, he was a very boisterous lad. But like Christian and hopeful, ignorance was going to the celestial city and he hoped to get through the gate as other good people do.
[33:27] But Christian asked ignorance, what have you to show at the gate which will allow you to enter there? Christian wanted to know if ignorance had a certificate like both he and hopeful did.
[33:40] But in his ignorance, ignorance replied and said, I know my Lord's will. I know my Bible. I have lived a good life. I pay every man his due.
[33:53] I pray. I fast. I pay tithes and I give alms. And you know, in horror at the ignorance of ignorance, Christian responded by saying, but you didn't come in at the narrow gate.
[34:11] You didn't come in at the narrow gate. No, no, you, you came in through the crooked lane. And I fear that when the day of reckoning shall come for you, you will be charged for being a thief and a robber than being admitted into the celestial city.
[34:27] But ignorance, he was, he was wise in his own eyes. He wouldn't listen to anything they had to say. And ignorance just sent to Christian and hopeful. He said, gentlemen, I do not know you, for you are utter strangers to me.
[34:42] You be content to follow the religion of your country and I will be content to follow the religion of mine. I trust that all will be well for each of us in the end.
[34:56] And with that, Christian and hopeful, they left ignorance for a while until they met him again in the enchanted ground. And when they met with ignorance, Christian asked ignorance.
[35:09] He asked him a great question. And you know, it's a question which every Christian should ask their unconverted friend. This is a question that every Christian should ask their unconverted friend.
[35:24] How does it stand between God and your soul? How does it stand between God and your soul? It's a great question, isn't it?
[35:36] My unconverted friend, how does it stand between God and your soul? And with that, we read that Christian and ignorance, they entered into this long conversation about salvation and the soul.
[35:52] But what arises from the conversation is that ignorance didn't think he was a bad person. He thought about God from time to time.
[36:02] He says that he had a good heart. He had a good life. He was good at keeping the commandments. He just thought that all he had to do was just believe that Jesus died for sinners and he would be saved.
[36:16] To which Christian he pointedly asked, how can you believe in Christ when you do not see your need of Him?
[36:27] Great question. How can you believe in Christ when you do not see your need of Him? And Christian said, you neither see your original nor your actual sin. You have such a high view of yourself and of what you do that you never see the necessity of Christ's righteousness to justify you before God.
[36:48] Christian goes on and he says, you believe with an imaginary faith because you believe that you're justified by your own righteousness, by your own works, by your own acts of righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ.
[37:04] And you know what Christian taught ignorance? What Christian taught ignorance in that great conversation was that he needed to adopt the Highland Kitchen Maid's prayer.
[37:18] Ignorance needed to adopt the Highland Kitchen Maid's prayer because was it not the Highland Kitchen Maid who prayed, Lord, show me myself and Lord, show me thyself?
[37:38] What a prayer to have. Lord show me myself and Lord show me thyself.
[37:48] But ignorance he rejected Christian and hopefuls exhortation and encouragement to commit his life to Jesus Christ. And Christian and hopeful they went on in the pilgrims' progress never to see ignorance again.
[38:08] But Bunyan he concludes part one of the pilgrims' progress and he does so by warning us not to be like ignorance. Because we read that when ignorance arrived at the gate to the celestial city, he began to knock.
[38:25] He began to knock and when the gate opened ajar, ignorance was asked, where have you come from and what do you want? And he answered them like many fools before him have answered.
[38:38] He said, I have eaten and drank in the presence of the King and he has taught in our streets. And I was like, well, Jesus warned in the summer on the Mount.
[38:49] Jesus warned that not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven for I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.
[39:04] Then the men at the gate to the celestial city, they asked ignorance for his certificate that they might go and show it to the King. And ignorance he fumbled in his bosom.
[39:15] He looked inside his coat, but he found nothing. Have you no certificate? They asked. But ignorance, he said nothing.
[39:26] So the men at the gate that they told the King about ignorance, but the King wouldn't go down to see him. Instead the King commanded the two shining ones.
[39:36] These two shining ones who had just led Christian and hopeful through the gate into the celestial city. The King commanded the two shining ones to take ignorance and bind him hand and foot and cast him away.
[39:52] And you know, by and he concludes part one with the most solemn words. So they took ignorance and carried him to the door, which I had seen in the side of the hill and threw him in.
[40:10] And I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the very gates of heaven, as well as from the city of destruction.
[40:22] I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the very gates of heaven, as well as from the city of destruction.
[40:37] My unconverted friend, this will be your end if you continue in the path of ignorance.
[40:49] This will be your end if you continue in the path of ignorance. But as we've studied the pilgrims progress, you have watched Christian.
[41:02] You have seen the difficulties and the struggles that he faced. You've watched Christian walk along the King's highway to the celestial city.
[41:13] You've watched him even enter in through the gate. But now it's your turn. It's your turn to flee from the city of destruction.
[41:27] It's your turn to begin the pilgrims progress. From slavery to salvation. From destruction to the delight of the celestial city.
[41:41] My friend, it's your turn. I want you to begin the pilgrims progress. I want you to flee from the city of destruction and begin the pilgrims progress.
[41:57] Walking towards the celestial city. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us and let us pray together.
[42:08] O Lord our gracious God, we give thanks to thee for the hope of the Gospel. That wonderful reminder of what is in the pilgrims experience.
[42:22] That there are many dangers and many difficulties. But at last there will be delight in entering that celestial city. Or that none of us would be found on the path of ignorance.
[42:34] That we would not claim our own righteousness. But claim the righteousness of thy Son Jesus. That we would look to him. That we would know his faithfulness.
[42:44] That we would look to him and be enlightened in our minds. And know that he is our righteousness. He is our Jehovah's at Kenu.
[42:54] The Lord our righteousness. Bless us Lord we pray. All that thou wouldst keep us on the narrow path that leads to life. And help us to persevere right to the end.
[43:07] Go before us and we ask. Guide us by thy spirit and lead us for Jesus' sake. Amen. Well we're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening.
[43:19] And we're going to sing the words of Psalm 17. In the Sing Psalms version. We're going to sing from verse 6. And then we're going to sing the last verse.
[43:31] Verse 15. In many ways these words there. An affirmation of the Christians experience. Where we confirm the Lord's covenant love towards us.
[43:43] But also the hope that when we close our eyes in this world. We will open them again. Seeing Jesus face to face. That is the hope of the Christian.
[43:55] My Christian friend that is your hope tonight. Death is not the end. It's only a doorway to see Jesus face to face.
[44:06] Psalm 17 from verse 6. I call on you O God for you will answer me. O turn your ear towards my prayer. And hear my earnest plea. Display your steadfast love and save with your right hand.
[44:19] All those who flee for help to you when foes against them stand. And then the last verse. But I in righteousness your face will surely see.
[44:30] And with your likeness when I wake I satisfied will be. I call on you O God for you will answer me.
[44:52] O turn your ear towards my prayer. And hear my earnest plea.
[45:04] Display your steadfast love and save with your right hand.
[45:15] All those who flee for help to you when foes against them stand.
[45:28] In shadow of your wings I live by your sky.
[45:39] And the sea above all pure earth is there at my life.
[45:52] All those who flee for help to you when foes against them stand.
[46:03] And with your likeness when I wake I satisfied will be.