The Pilgrims Progress

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Welcome to the Cornerstone Church podcast.

Thanks for tuning in for another week.

We are still making our way through John Bunnions, the Pilgrim's progress.

I hope you've enjoyed listening to them so far.

If if you if this is your first time, then you can catch up with all of them on the podcast channel.

And on our website, cornerstonechurchkingson.

org, you can find, lots of other resources too.

So we are we we've come to a section now called the delectable mountains.

And last time, Christian and hopeful, probably, experienced 1 of their 1 of their darkest points on on the journey so far.

They they they left the path and they ended up in the, the castle of giant despair and his wife who I forgot her name.

Now.

Anyway, diffidence diffidence.

And, they were they were being tortured there, really, and were were so low that they were they were actually at the point of taking their own lives, until they discovered, the promises of god and, were able to unlock all of the gates and get out, and they're back on the road now.

And so the lord has been merciful to them, and and they've come now to these delectable mountains.

Did we look up what the word deductible meant? Well, it's delightful.

Isn't it? It's just lovely, and that's exactly what they are.

So, they've had this battle, if you like, this mental spiritual faith battle in Doughton Castle.

And this is god, isn't it? This is a is a picture of of the Pilgrim, you know, you go through times of darkness.

And then there's he wants to refresh us because he wants us to keep going.

It's not know, he doesn't he doesn't wanna stop us.

It's not like doubting castle is put there to stop us in that sense.

And so there's these delightful delectable mountains that we're told there's gardens, there's orchards, there's vineyards, there's fountains of water there, It's like being back in Eden, isn't it? It's a sort of a flavor of Eden and a flavor of the new world to come.

And so they wash.

I mean, that must have been phenomenal.

I mean, they're in doubting castle in in darkness, weren't there, and there was no food or drink or anything.

And beat and beating up and beaten up.

Yeah.

So, like, to have that washing in that like, cleansing and then to be nourished, because remember, they weren't fed anything, really No.

By giant despair.

So this is exactly what they need.

Yeah.

And that that they they eat freely from the vineyards.

And and these delectrical mountains are are the hills of the lord.

They they've been put here 4 pilgrims to be refreshed in.

And it's a it's a delight.

And then, of course, they meet on the top of the delectable mountains, These shepherds.

Mhmm.

Yeah.

So they meet these shepherds.

And, the pilgrims the pilgrims ask whose Delectable mountains are these? And whose be the sheep that feed upon them.

And the shepherds say these mountains are a manual's land, said the shepherds, and they are within sight of his city.

And the sheep also are his, and he laid down his life for them.

So that's a that's a really key moment in the journey, isn't it? They are now within sight of the city.

Yeah.

So And that's the point of the mountains, isn't it? The point of the mountains is is to show you the destination.

You don't stay there.

But it's to show you the the destination.

I think if you said to the shepherds, I've gotta set up camp here and stay here.

They would think you were nuts.

Yeah.

But yeah, the whole point in refreshment is to keep keep you going for the journey.

And part of that refreshment is to see where you're going.

So it's who you're clear clear about that.

So then how does how does the conversation move forward from there then? Well, Christian wants to know, is this the way to the celestial city, which they they say, yep.

Yep.

That's the right way.

And then but then there's 2 questions from Christian.

It's how how far do we have to go to which the answer, well, if if you're Not certainly gonna arrive at the celestial city.

It's too far.

So if you're not gonna definitely get in there, it's too far, which quite simple, really, if you think about it.

But then also is the way safe or dangerous? And the and the answer to To that question, is it safe for those whom it is to be safe, but transgressors undoubtedly fall along the way? So again, for those who are faithful and are true, then it's a safe path.

But if you're gonna fall away or you're gonna mess mess around, then then it's a dangerous path.

And it's it's just, pastoral gold.

That, isn't it? Because within those is is an assurance for them, isn't there? That if they belong to Emmanuel, and if the lord of the hill lay down his life for these, then they will make it.

They're gonna make it.

It won't be too far for them, and it won't be too dangerous for them.

And yet, they don't they don't want them to grow lazy, or kind of apathetic or to to take their watch down because It it's sort of too far for any, but those who shall get there, it's like, oh, well, you know, I hope that's us.

We we we better, we better keep our eyes on then.

So he doesn't say, yeah, look, you did.

No.

Look, don't don't worry about it.

It's not far.

Just, you know, relax.

You'll be there soon.

And, is it dangerous, not for you guys? No.

You're you're fine.

Don't worry.

You know, there's wants them to sort of have an appropriate watchfulness, doesn't he? And not to presume upon, their safety, but also to rest assured in the lord's grace.

And so that that's a really great balance of new testament teaching about assurance, but also the need to persevere, isn't it? Might be worth just saying their names, the shepherd's names.

Yeah.

It's, they're called knowledge experience, watch for, and sincere.

Why why do you think he picked on those? The knowledge, experience watch for, and since and sincere.

Oops.

I'm quite.

Yeah.

Not a clue.

Well, you know, experience is is a helpful thing, isn't it? Whether where there's experience, you can give wisdom about what's happened before.

And and to, warn against what's gone before.

Yeah.

I think experience is helpful in those things.

But you can't have experience without knowledge.

That's right.

You've gotta have the 2 together, haven't you? It's it.

Otherwise, your experience takes over, and then you're in trouble, aren't you? Yep.

So experience is very important, but it has to be balanced with with with knowledge.

Yep.

And also these are shepherds, aren't they? So they've got the task of overseeing the sheep.

And these are particularly important virtues for shepherds, because 1 of the things that Jesus rebukes the false shepherds and the hired hands for is that they're not watchful about the sheep, not really.

They don't.

They're not looking out for them.

They're not alert to the dangers they're really just in it for themselves.

So they're not sincere.

It's not sincere.

They're they're and they found out to be hypocrites in the end.

And, I mean, yeah, Jesus talks about that a lot, doesn't it? You know, they they they pretend to be.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, that's a challenge to to to Christian leaders, isn't it? Cause we need to be these things.

We need to have knowledge.

But knowledge is not enough.

You need to experience the knowledge that you have.

You know, that's wisdom, isn't it? We need to be watchful for the for the the the sheep, that are in our care, and we need to be sincere.

We're not about just money and comfort where, you know, we we've gotta lay our life down for the sheep as it were.

So they're really important things for Christian ministers to have, aren't they? That's right.

Yeah.

And you can see they want to experience life among the sheep, don't they? So they're they're not just giving them orders from a from the safety of their own shepherd huts, you know, they they want to be out meeting the pilgrims and and knowing what life is like for them and where have they come from and how did they persevere and, what did they find useful and what was hard for them? And that's all very important in Christian ministry, isn't it? You you can you can't just give your sermon and then disappear for the whole week.

You know, you you you you have to be a good shepherd.

You have to try to get amongst people and just hear their experiences and stuff.

So that's, I guess, what they want.

So so these shippers, they're knowing that stuff.

It's quite interesting because they've they've just been delighted.

They've washed.

They've eaten.

And and you sort of think, oh, delectable mountains to share everything would just be sort of nice And of course in 1 set it is, but they now they now know that in order to help them, by god's grace carry on this this journey, they've gotta warn them and show them some things.

And so, they know that out of experience and knowledge that this is this is what people need.

And so they take them on to various hills.

So the first hill is the hill era.

Yeah.

So they have a little elders meeting, the shepherds, don't they? And they say, shall we show these pilgrims and wonders and when they had concluded to do it? So they have a little discussion amongst themselves.

What would be most helpful for them? You know, again, not a major on minors necessarily, but there's a that's something about leadership.

There's a plurality of them, isn't there? There's not just 1.

It's not just 1 Bishop ruling over.

You know, there's a there's a there's a collection of qualified godly shepherds here, and they make decisions together about what is most helpful for the sheep.

Nope.

So there's something there about church leadership, but yeah, you're right.

So the first 1, they take them up is 1 called error error.

Yeah.

Yes.

Which was, he says, very steep on the father's side.

And he bid them looked down to the bottom.

Yep.

And so Christian and Hopeful looked down and saw at the bottom several men dashed all to pieces by a fall, that they had from the top.

So they're looking at their their peering over the edge of this cliff, which is something like a shared drop on 1 side, and they can see at the bottom that there are these men who have been dashed to pieces.

So quite a harrowing.

Yeah.

You know For their concept.

Yeah.

For their comfort.

Well, it is.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It is.

Yeah.

And and and then they look down and they see you know, when he's, Christian says, what meaneth this? Yeah.

And the shepherds are very happy to answer because they wanna wanna teach them.

And, you know, these are These are people that had had, They've been led into error.

Yeah.

Gone into error.

By listening to Himalayanas and Philiitas.

Yep.

Who are who, who were false teachers in in Paul's time.

So in 2 Timothy, it details these these men who, who, I think, had been gospel ministers but had departed from the gospel truths, of the resurrection.

And they'd said that the resurrection had already taken place that the that the the future resurrection that the apostolic teaching would refer to is not in the future.

It's happened right now.

And what that ends up doing is upsets people in their faith.

How does that do that thing? Because that's a quite an important thing, isn't it? So I mean, if if if it was true for Christian and hopeful, then what's the point of journeying? Yeah.

Because you've you've you've arrived.

Mhmm.

Yeah.

Isn't it? That that that so that's basically what these false teachers are saying.

Yes.

You you it's your best life now.

Yeah.

That's right.

What's that bloke in America? Josh's teeth.

Yeah.

Who's wrote that wrote the book, didn't he? Your best your your best life now is here in this world.

It's it's extraordinarily wrong, isn't it? Yeah.

I mean, it's very upsetting for Christians to think that, the resurrection age may have arrived.

And it wasn't the physical new creation.

They thought it was gonna be, it was some sort of spiritual awakening in them, or that the new creation has come, and this is it.

You think of the implications of that.

Well, firstly, I'm still sinning.

Yeah.

So, I mean, that's dreadful because I'm I'm not going to be free from sin in this resurrection age, which I was really looking forward to.

Secondly, those loved ones who've died in the lord, well, where are they? I don't see them.

They've gone, so I haven't been reunited with them.

And and all this this hope that I had of being in a new creation with those who've died in the lord being free from sin, or or my disappointment and guilt gone, just fullness of joy forever in the presence of god.

It's come, and it looks very much like the life I was just living, which is full of sin.

But then you have been bit, but then you have to spiritualize things.

And so that's exactly what the Nostics did.

You separate the body from the spirit.

So therefore, you you can say, well, no, the body sins, Yes.

Yeah.

But I'm free in my spirit.

I have a resurrection spirit.

So I don't need to worry about the body or or or 2 things happen.

Do you either you know, put down the body with severe, you know, eating Yeah.

Things And the body.

Yeah.

And and the seticism or or you said, because it's an evil thing the body, and it's all about the spirit, or you say, oh, well, it doesn't matter what the body does.

I can do anything I like.

With the body, because that isn't sin anymore because I'm set free by the resurrection thing.

So you twist everything, and it becomes extremely evil in the way, doesn't it? And and you will be dashed to pieces if you follow that sort of error.

Because because either way, either you're you're trying to justify yourself again by rules.

And Yep.

So that's your kind of your self righteousness angle of it, or you're trying to self indulge yourself just do whatever you want that Yep.

Displeases god.

Yeah.

And so both areas lead you to health.

Yeah.

And hymenaeus and Philiitas are specifically named here, probably because they're the exact opposite of what a good shepherd is.

So, I mean, the pride of it, you know, because who's announcing that the resurrection has come? Well, hymenaeus and Philetus, we're the ones who know.

You know, we're we're the ones who are declaring that the end of the ages has come.

And and the arrow the arrogance of that.

So they're setting themselves up as false, like, the false pools, aren't they the false apostles? And so the shepherds actually say, that those you see light dashed in pieces at the bottom of this mountain, are they? And they have continued to this day, unburied.

So, you know, I guess this time or in any time, really, you know, to not be given a proper burial, to not be laid to rest, is a is a mark of shame, isn't it? You know, I guess in history, they would leave the corpses of their enemies out, wouldn't they? Yeah.

And and often, you know, still today, isn't it? You know, if somebody, like, if somebody tragically loses a a loved 1, a daughter, a son, overseas, they just wanna get the body.

If they can't have them back, they wanna get the body back.

It's such an important thing, isn't it? But these are left out so that others will look at them and say, yeah, that's what happens.

You you you know, if you go their way, you'll you'll you'll become like that.

So But this, I think just, you know, this very important this error stuff, because people don't quite like people talking about error.

But this shows that there is an apostolic standard right back then, in when Paul wrote, to Timothy, you know, is right back in the 1st century.

There was an app at standard.

And if you'd, went off the off that, you were in error.

But it's just really important because people want to sort of say, you know, surely we can include all kinds of supposed Christianity within our Christianity.

And the the answer is no.

None.

Because this is error.

An error will lead you to this precipice.

It will destroy you.

It will do you great harm.

And that's why we've gotta keep coming back to the apostolic word, isn't it? What does what was what did the apostles say? Because that's what Jesus says.

We've gotta keep coming back to very, very, very important.

And part of being a good shepherd is not just to feed, the the grapes and the vineyards and to wash people, that's absolutely right.

There's there's delight there, isn't there? And we're gonna see at the end of this little section, what the shepherds want to do.

But it is, if you're gonna be a good shepherd, is to is to show error.

You've gotta say this is wrong because this will kill you.

And a good shepherd's not gonna allow the sheep to fall down into that precipice.

Mhmm.

These are important truths here, aren't they? That's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's part of what it means to be a shepherd.

And, you know, they they actually, you know, want to reinforce this message another 2 times.

So, you know, they're they're gonna bang the same the same drum.

And so then it says they they take them to the top of another mountain, and the name of that mountain is caution.

And, and so so they're up this down mount, down mount era.

They're on Mount Caution now, and the shepherds, bid them to look.

And, and what are they what are the what do they see from this mountain? Well, they see several men walking up and down among a number of tombs locations.

They're like zombies, aren't they? Yes.

Well, then they're they're actually blind men.

Yeah.

So they I don't know how they realized they were blind.

Oh, no.

It's because they stumbled sometimes over the tombs.

And then they're unable to get out from among them.

So they're sort of floundering around these tombs.

They're kind of stuck there because they can't see the way out of this sort of this graveyard.

And, and then there's this really powerful reminder, of where Christian and hopeful had just been.

And so they just escaped out of doubting cast through the promises of god that Christian found.

But these men, these blind men hadn't escaped.

And, and and the shepherd says, these these are the men that went down, bypass meadow, landed in, doubting castle.

Giant despair was smashing at the them up, I think, pulled out their eyes or whatever it was, and now they're they're blind.

And and suddenly, Christian and hopeful.

It it really is a moment of, you know, but for the grace of god, go I.

That is us That's where we deserve to be.

But god in his kindness by his spirit, reminded us of promises that got us out of the the old castle.

I mean, it's it's amazing because because they have just been there.

And the he point that the shepherds are pointing out the consequences that could have occurred if they'd stayed in that in that place.

And and you can see just how much that affects them because they look at each other with tears streaming down their cheeks.

They don't they don't say anything to the shepherds, but I think they can feel again the guilt.

And again, we we saw last time, didn't we, like, particularly Christian who had led led, hopeful into this into this place and and had really come close to sort of ending his life.

And I think that would have just reminded him.

Yes.

1 of his of his sin and of his lack of trust.

But also, as as you say, Pete, the the grace of god to lead them out and to remind them of his promises and to to heal him with his words and then to bring him to this delectable mountains is just incredible mercy.

Yeah.

And it shows what would have happened them.

You know, he this is what giant despair would have done.

He would have put their eyes out.

And instead of mercifully ending their lives, he would have led them to wander forever amongst the graves, you know, we've blotted our eyes and, you know, that that could that could that could have been them.

It's it's sometimes when you hear know, sometimes if a if a if a plane goes down or there's a crash on a train or or a car crash or something and they they inter some of the people they often interview are ones who should have been on that train.

Yeah.

But we're on the 1 before.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And they'll say, you know, if I was 2 minutes later, I would have been on that train.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, I was on the And there are these moments aren't there in life where we have a realization that that could have been me.

That should have been me.

Normally, that would have been me.

And it's It's a little, I know that's just a secular example, but there are there are little moments in life where we where we become aware of Well, Bunion had that himself.

Well, yeah.

Actually, Bunion, it it because, he well, before he was a Christian, he was on, He swapped guard duty.

Oh, yeah.

With with with someone.

And the guard that he swapped with that who took his who took his bit was killed.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was 1 of the things I've got here thinking.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, it's really, it's really interesting that that we've been going through Matthews parables in in our evening services.

And, we went through the parable of the wondering the the wondering sheep.

And, the wondering sheep has gone away from the lord and his promises, really, I think.

The the the sin that's taken them away in there.

They've been led, and they might have been led into something like this.

And it's the shepherd that goes out and pursues them in love and brings them back.

And I think we can all I I think we have talked about this, and I think volume does this so well.

There are there are things in your life and there's people put in your life that bring you back and there's shepherds that come in and they love you and they bring you back and they restore you.

And so I think that's that's absolutely what happens.

You can look back and go, well, if it hadn't been for that camp that I went on or it hadn't been for sermon that I listened to, if I hadn't been for that, that person who who prayed for me, then then maybe I I would have been a very story for me.

And so god is so gracious in giving us I I I don't think we're we're aware of the amount of things that I've cactus.

The providences have gone all the way through.

Yeah.

Why didn't that car rear into me? Why did I, you know, not fall down there or whatever? Absolutely.

Yeah.

We'll see that.

But and that but it's that's a good thing, isn't it, for us? So in, like, in let's just sort of take that in church life when someone falls, there shouldn't be a sort of delight.

No.

We do need to hear about that, but I get, I I guess the big thing should be But for the grace of god, go I, and we should probably be stopping when we hear of a brother or sister falling and thanking the lord that he saved us from from that that very era, you know, because most of us would, you know, fall on anything, really.

Yeah.

The seeds of everything are in our own hearts, aren't they? And, Well, so then they then after that, they they they sort of have a similar lesson again.

Yeah.

Well, they, they look down to the side of a hill, and there's a door.

There's a door.

Yeah.

So there's this kind of, Yeah.

So that we're There's very dark and smokey and there's rumbling noises of fire and cries of some tormented and smell of, brimstone is coming out of it.

Yeah.

The brimstone.

So it's yeah.

So it's similar to the the value of the shadow of death is when they when they were going through on that narrow walkway and on either sides, there were these sorts of sounds and smells that were coming, and that that was also a picture of hell.

And, Christian, again, what means this? The shepherds told them this is a by way to hell, a way that hypocrites go in at.

Namely such as sell their birthright with Esaw, sell their master, Judas, blasphemiah gospel, Alexander, lie and a nice and sufferer.

So these are all people who who at 1 time would have claimed to be friends of the covenant god or or born into the family of the covenant god or, were, loyal to, the apostolic message or to Christ for a season and wanted to give the impression that they were faithful, But in the end, they were they were exposed and discovered and found out for for what they, for what they are.

And then, hopeful says I perceive that these had on them, even everyone, a show of pilgrimage.

So that's the thing, isn't it? As we have now, and they said yes and held it a long time too, said the shepherds.

And so this is, this is another category of people, isn't it, really? There's that there's the people who went off the path and ended up in doubting castle.

There's people like Jimenez and Phyllitas who taught error publicly in churches, and then there's these people, a sort of 3rd category of of of those who aren't going to make it to the celestial city.

And and these are the these are the hypocrites.

And they seem to be sort of fast tracked to hell.

Basically, they they go they go through this door.

And I and I suppose, you know, it's interesting just tying a few threads together, isn't it? That, the shepherd say, you know, this you you can now see the gates of heaven from here.

In other words, you're quite far along.

And sometimes hypocrites can make it quite a long way.

Judice does 3 years, doesn't he? Before, you know, his public exposure takes place.

And, so this is just a caution, isn't it? To to make sure that like a shepherd, his name is sincere, that that's what we are, sincere.

Yeah.

I mean, all these people are as interesting, aren't they? They they all they all turn to this life, don't they? They want money or something in this life.

Soup.

Yeah.

Maybe Cecil.

Yeah.

They're immediately hungry.

In other words, they want their desires fulfilled now in this in this world.

Judith wants money, you know, and NICEa, they want to be seen to be good people immediately.

What's having money? What's keeping money? Yeah.

Alexander, the the whatever he is, the Silver Smith thing.

It's all about money, isn't it? And yeah.

Yep.

So, yeah, So then after that, they, they, well Sorry.

It is sorry.

It might be worth just going back to that because if we could no.

No.

No.

No.

It's just it's just that it takes time, doesn't it, before you see that? So Jesus, it gives the the parable of the sower, doesn't it? And and and and then the weeds choking the plant.

So the plant at 1 time looks like it's going to be good.

It's going to produce fruit.

And then he says the worries of this world and money and things like that in the end choke in the end choke the plant.

So it isn't fruitful.

So for a long time, it looks like it's growing up with the other with the the ones that are gonna bear fruit.

Yeah.

And so it would look pretty good.

It's gone quite a long way.

It's gone further than the the the the, seed that fell on, you know, the the rocky Yeah.

Ground, obviously.

So there is something.

It just sometimes takes time for you to see that there's a worldly heart here and that the things that worry you and concern you have become the big things of this world rather than the things of eternity.

This is game good advice, isn't it? Yeah.

It is.

And, you know, it's partly why at the beginning, when they say to the shepherds, is it far to go? And and they say, well, you know, not not too far if you belong to the lord.

And so again, that's a little message, isn't it? Because that there are hypocrites who've made it quite far, you know, and, and so, well, you know, if you're the lords, you'll make it, but, you know, if you're a hypocrite, you won't, you know, that kind of thing, isn't it? Well, I mean, some of these pilgrims go further than this We do.

Yeah.

Yep.

And some don't get as far.

So but but eventually, I think You'll found out.

They found out.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the pilgrims then say to 1 another after these 3, So there's been this by way to hell.

There's been Mount Caution And Mount Era.

They said we had need to cry to the strong for strength.

And that's a capital s, you know, the the strong, the strong 1 that Emmanuel, the lord of the country, which which is the lord Jesus.

And so in other words, I think the shepherd's teaching has had the right effect upon them, which is, to make them say not, you know, shepherds, we need you to come with us, but to say we need Christ.

We need Christ if we're gonna be preserved here.

So please lord, give a strength, and the shepherd say, yes, you better do that.

And you will have need to use it.

Yeah.

Interesting and interesting for it.

I was trying to just reading that and thinking, you'll you'll have need to draw on that strength once you have it too.

Remind because, Pete, you're preaching on colossians yesterday, and we have we have, what is it, the energy that Christ supplies, all the energy And what does that cause us to do to strenuously contend? And so when when you ask for the strength from the strong 1, You then use that strength and draw upon it to then go and contend for the faith, which is what they're gonna need to do.

Yes.

So the strength of god doesn't make it easy.

None.

The strength of god makes us step out into dangers and battle and battle.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So then the shepherds, so say to each other, well, let's just show them 1 more thing.

And let's let's take them up and show them the gates of the celestial city.

If they have skill to look, that's a lot of perspective.

So everything's got a slight There's a there's a glass there.

There's a Yeah.

What'd you call it? A little telescope.

Telescope thing, isn't it? They've got 1 of those things you put like a pound in at the co Yeah.

Right.

I'm doing other top of the electoral mounted.

Yeah.

There's a there's the shepherds making a bit of money.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Fair enough.

I mean, someone's gonna pay your workers' worth his wages, obviously.

Yeah.

So they go to the top of a high hill called clear or clarity.

I think it and gave them this glass, this telescope to look through.

And then it's interesting because they try to look through they wanna get a clear sight of their destination and how exciting it will be to to see that.

But the remembrance of that last thing the shepherds had shown them made their hands shake by means of which they could not look steadily through the glass.

And so they've got, and and perhaps it's more than just the last thing.

You know, they've got these 3 visions in their mind.

They've got, wandering zombies in the tombs with their eyes put out.

They've got you know, unburied false teachers lying dash to pieces.

They've got the smell of hell still in their noses.

And all of that is making it hard for them to steadily hold the glass.

You know, they're shaking.

And so it it, you know, it's rocking, and they can't quite get a sight of it because this this memory, of what happens to to false believers, false teachers is is is so fresh in their minds.

And yeah, they they do see something like the gate and some of the glory of the place, and that's enough to lead them to Praise the lord.

So, that's, you know, that's that's and what what a sight that must have been, you know, why do you think Sorry.

I know I asked these questions, but why why do you think onion did that the shaky hand? I mean, it's quite interesting.

It's, if you were writing that, would you done that.

I think, you know, it's quite quite interesting, isn't it? I mean, he's showing the weight, isn't he? So he's that the the the the sense of the weight of this journey and the seriousness Yeah.

Is so big, isn't it? He he understands this, I think.

Because I think most of us, if we were sort of doing that, would have we might have thought, oh, yeah.

And they saw the beautiful city, and we, off we go.

It's interesting, isn't it? It might be to do with the fact that we we never, appreciate glory as it truly is.

And part of that might be because of things that happen in this world or all the the consequences of not getting there.

So sometimes we're scared scared into heaven, aren't we a little bit? And the but the the health of might clouds or give us shaky vision.

But as as we, you know, think about that and we then focus on glory, just having that glimpse is is helpful.

And the high moneys sort of people would come along and say, this is typical.

You you you can't you don't know what you're talking about.

These shaky hands.

You can't even see where you going clearly.

Yeah.

Whereas we've got the resurrection, we've got it all now, isn't it? That's the the boldness of error.

Is interesting, isn't it? Whereas the reality of truth sometimes is, I don't know, maybe and quite a lot of saying that.

No.

It sounded good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I stopped.

But it's there is a boldness of error, isn't it? There's a real ugly, assurance in error.

Yeah.

Sometimes.

And sometimes those are us that know the truth where there's this sister shakiness there.

I think there is something in Yeah.

And it's it just reminds me a bit of those the words that Jesus says to the disciples about, you know, whom they should fear.

And he doesn't want them to fear men who kill the body and then do no more.

He wants them to fear the father in heaven who after the body has Guild has authority to throw both soul and body in hell.

And he says, yes.

I tell you, fear him.

Yeah.

And he's saying that to disciples.

And then, and then he goes on to say that god loves you so much.

He knows how many hairs are upon your head, and you don't need to fear.

Yeah.

And so I mean, it's sort of interesting, like, applying all of that because I think the the main part of the Christian experience should be assurance that I'm a child of god.

All my sins have been I'm going to heaven.

No condemnation.

Now I dread.

You know, I know hell is not my home.

And yeah, I guess there's something about the majesty of god and the holiness of god.

We that that stays with the Christian, you know, it's like, I ought to fear him still could throw body and soul into hell.

There's gotta be something of the enjoying the grace of god without kinda losing something of that.

And and perhaps Bunion just felt that more keenly than we do today, maybe.

And and if he doesn't ever want them to lose the fact that hell is real, and they sort of could go there if they're not careful, you know, even though they belong to Emmanuel.

Yep.

They're gonna make it.

And, it's hard to do.

Well, it's that warning that keeps you going, isn't it? Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Now, that's what I mean about the the the issue of the I mean, I I I watched this horrific, preacher from America, last night on And it was, it was his boldness in error.

I mean, it was his dealing with the Bible was so bad, man.

I don't think there's any Sunday school kid in our church that would would say he's right.

He was so bad, embarrassingly bad, but he's strutting up and down, saying write that down.

Now write that down.

And you think No.

Because you've got it so utterly wrong.

It it it it there is so many errors, but he was just the boldness and the arrogance I think that error has.

And I think there is a humility in truth, isn't there? We know it's true, but, you know, are we true? To it.

And I guess that's it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's helpful.

We are assured that this truth is true.

Yeah.

But are we true to the truth? It's quite healthy.

Are we true to the truth? And so they end with that, don't they? So as they go, they they give them just a sort of parting sort of, hey.

Yeah.

Lads, listen to this, you know, take note of the way They give them a note of the way to make sure they know the way the shepherds.

Yeah.

And then, be care beware of a flatterer.

Yep.

Because that's a good thing to be aware of.

And then the 3rd said, don't sleep in the enchanted ground and then the 4th said godspeed, you know, going god's grace and god's god be with you.

Mhmm.

Which is That's the.

Yeah.

They're sort of partying messages, isn't it? I mean, there's something interesting in the little song as well that they sing who is gonna be hopeful.

Not well, see, I don't know.

Did you recall and in the pre- No.

Unfortunately, that wasn't recorded.

But, no, not now.

They say, come to the shepherds then, if you would see things deep things hid and that mysterious be.

Yeah.

And there is something there about us needing the community of god's people that is being led by faithful Bible Shepherds.

We need that in order to keep going with the lord and to understand the things of eternity.

Because if we try to just do individual church or private Christianity, you know, we're gonna end up off the road.

So there's a there's an importance there, isn't it, in being under shepherds if you wanna if you want to know, how to walk and so on.

Yeah.

Out about that? I think so.

Yeah.

Alright.

Well, thanks for, listening in.

Hope you hope you enjoyed this episode.

We'll we'll be following on with Christian and hopeful again next week.

So do please tune in, look out for the, the podcasters they come.

And as I said at the start, Cornerstonechurchkingston.

org is where you can find, lots of other resources, which we hope will be a blessing to you.

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