[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help, if we could just read first of all from Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. Ephesians chapter 6, I'm going to read again in verse 10, where Paul writes, he says, Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
[0:17] Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
[0:36] Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. As you know this evening, we're continuing our study in the pilgrim's progress.
[0:52] And as we've walked with John Bunyan's pilgrim, we've walked along with him in the King's Highway, and we've been walking from the city of destruction, and we are going towards the celestial city.
[1:06] And as I mentioned this evening, we've now come to the Valley of Humiliation. We're at the Valley of Humiliation. But as you know, we've been through a lot already. We've walked with Christian along the King's Highway, and we've fled from the city of destruction.
[1:21] We've been delivered from the salaw of Despond. We've passed through the Wicked Gate. We've explored the Interpreter's House. We stood at the cross where the burden rolled off our back.
[1:34] And then we persevered up the hill called difficulty. And last week, we lodged for a time at the Palace Beautiful. And as we saw, the Palace Beautiful was a description and a depiction of the Church of Jesus Christ.
[1:50] And it was while lodging at the Palace Beautiful that Christian, you'll remember, he discovered that the Church is a house of faith, it's a house of fellowship, it's a house of family, and it's also a house of fame.
[2:03] But as we continue walking with Christian in the Pilgrim's Progress this evening, I want us to remember what the porter Watchful said to Christian at the Palace Beautiful.
[2:15] You'll remember that Watchful said to him as Christian arrived at the Palace Beautiful, he said, This house was built by the Lord of the hill, and he built it for the relief and security of pilgrims.
[2:27] The Palace Beautiful was built by the Lord of the hill on the top of a hill for the relief and security of pilgrims. And you'll remember that on one side of the Palace Beautiful was the hill difficulty, which Christian had climbed and ascended to the top of.
[2:46] But then on the other side of the Palace Beautiful was the Valley of Humiliation, which Christian was just about to descend into and meet Apollyon there.
[2:59] And you know, in many ways we have to remember that the Palace Beautiful was a mountaintop experience for Christian. It was a place of relief and rest and refreshment during his Christian pilgrimage.
[3:13] My friend, for Christian, the Palace Beautiful, it was in many ways like attending a communion season. Because Christian, you remember, he enjoyed five days of fellowship with the family of God.
[3:26] He enjoyed rest and relief and refreshment. But as you know, you can't stay on a mountaintop experience. Because the Christian life, it isn't a series of mountaintop experiences.
[3:39] The Christian life is not only full of mountains, it's also full of valleys. And that's what we'll see as Christian leaves the Palace Beautiful and he descends now, he descends into another valley, the valley of humiliation.
[3:55] And what we'll actually notice as we continue in our journey, God willing, next year, we'll see that the valley of humiliation, it leads right into another valley, the valley of the shadow of death.
[4:06] And as you know, my Christian friend, that's often how it is in the Christian life. The pilgrim's progress is not a series of mountaintops, but a series of valleys.
[4:18] And yet it's in the valley that we learn to fight and to focus. It's in the valley that we learn to fight against Lucifer and focus upon the Lord. And so as Christian now descends from the Palace Beautiful into the valley of humiliation, he comes face to face with Apollyon.
[4:36] And I want us to see that we learn three things about Christian in the valley of humiliation. We learn about Christian's armour for Apollyon. We learn about Christian's accusations from Apollyon.
[4:49] And we learn about Christian's advantage over Apollyon. So Christian's armour for Apollyon, Christian's accusations from Apollyon, and Christian's advantage over Apollyon.
[5:03] So first of all, Christian's armour for Apollyon. Christian's armour for Apollyon. Bunyan writes in the Pilgrim's Progress, he says, But now in this valley of humiliation, poor Christian was hard put to it.
[5:18] For he had gone but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him. His name is Apollyon. His name is Apollyon.
[5:30] And so having enjoyed the privilege of friendship and fellowship and family on the mountaintop in the Palace Beautiful, Christian now descends into the valley of humiliation. And he comes face to face with this fierce fiend and foe, as we read, called Apollyon.
[5:46] He is the devil. And you know, that's often the way it is in the Christian life. That after a mountaintop experience, after a place of blessing and refreshment, there is the valley.
[5:58] And it's in the valley of humiliation that the devil goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And as Christian enters the valley of humiliation, the devil, right away, he has Christian in his sights.
[6:13] And he's ready and waiting. He's ready and waiting to ambush and assault and attack and accuse Christian. But you know what's interesting? It's the name Bunyan gives to the devil.
[6:25] He calls him Apollyon, which means destroyer. It's taken from the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 9, where John gives this vivid description of the devil.
[6:38] That he was the star who had fallen from heaven. And he was the angel of the bottomless pit. And his name in Hebrew, we're told, was Abaddon, which means destruction.
[6:50] And in Greek, he's called Apollyon, which means destroyer. And as you know, the devil, he has many names, more than Apollyon and Abaddon.
[7:02] He's called the Diabolus. He's the divider. He's the deceiver. He's Lucifer. He's the tempter. He's the ancient serpent. He's called Satan. He's the adversary. He's the accuser of the brethren.
[7:14] He's the father of lies. He's been a liar and a murderer from the beginning. He comes to us, we're told, as an angel of light. He's Beelzebub. He's the Antichrist.
[7:25] He's the prince of the power of the air. He's the prince of demons. You know, my friend, the devil is given all these descriptive names. But Bunyan refers to him as Apollyon.
[7:36] Which means destroyer. Because as you know, Apollyon's aim in the valley of humiliation was to destroy Christian. But Bunyan not only describes Apollyon's aim, he also describes Apollyon's accusations.
[7:55] Sorry, his appearance. He describes his appearance. Because Bunyan, he describes his appearance. He says, And you know, it's hard to imagine what this hybrid creature looked like.
[8:23] But Bunyan's description of Apollyon's appearance, it only seeks to emphasise Apollyon's aim. That he wants to destroy Christian. He wants to destroy Christian.
[8:37] But as you know, Christian has armour for Apollyon. Christian has armour for Apollyon. Because you'll remember last week when we were in the Palace Beautiful.
[8:49] That just before Christian was allowed to leave the palace and descend into the Valley of Humiliation. Christian was then taken into the armoury. And he was shown all the armour and all the weapons that the Lord has provided for his pilgrims.
[9:04] And we're told that there was enough armour in the armoury to provide armour for all the servants of the Lord. And so when Christian went into the armoury, he was dressed from head to foot in armour.
[9:17] He was armed and ready for any ambush, any assault, any attack and any accusation from Apollyon. Of course, Christian's armour for Apollyon.
[9:28] It's based upon the description which we read in Ephesians 6. Where Paul describes the whole armour of God. And Paul there, he encourages and exhorts the Christian to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
[9:45] Paul says, put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And as Paul reminds us, our warfare is not physical.
[9:57] It's spiritual. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
[10:08] Against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore, says Paul, take up the whole armour of God. Go into your armoury and put on your armour and pick up your weapons, which the Lord has provided for his pilgrims.
[10:24] And pick them up and put them on so that you may be able to stand firm as a Christian soldier. And you know, what Paul is actually saying to us in Ephesians 6 is, Stand firm, Christian soldier.
[10:38] Having put on the belt of truth to protect you against the lies and false accusations of the devil. He says, stand firm, Christian soldier. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart against the attacks of the devil.
[10:54] Because the thing is, you've been justified by faith. You have peace with God. You've been made righteous with God. So don't let the devil take that from you. Stand firm, Christian soldier, he says.
[11:07] Having put on your feet gospel shoes. That you will be able to walk along the king's highway. In the way of holiness. And along the path of righteousness. Stand firm, Christian soldier, he says.
[11:20] And take up the shield of faith. So that you're able to defend and to deflect the darts of the evil one. Stand firm, Christian soldier, he says.
[11:31] Having put on the helmet of salvation. Because the battle, my friend. The battle is often in the mind, isn't it? The battle is often in the mind where Satan comes to tempt you to disbelief and despondency and despair.
[11:47] Stand firm, Christian soldier. Having in your hand the sword of the spirit. Which is the word of God. And you know the thing is, my friend.
[11:59] A good soldier knows his sword. A good soldier knows his sword. When I read this passage in Ephesians 6.
[12:10] I often think of William Wallace. He was that influential soldier who was fighting against England during the Scottish wards of independence in the 13th century.
[12:24] And William Wallace, he was a good soldier because he knew his sword. In fact, his sword, if you've ever seen it, it's over five feet long. But William Wallace was a good soldier not only because he knew his sword and knew how to handle his sword.
[12:40] He was a good soldier because he knew how to attack with his sword and also to defend with his sword. And you know, my Christian friend, we must do the same.
[12:51] As a Christian soldier, we must know our sword. We need to know how to handle our sword. We need to know how to attack with our sword. We need to know how to defend with our sword.
[13:04] We need to know our sword. We need to know the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. We need to read the word, my friend. We need to repeat the word.
[13:14] We need to recite the word. We need to rehearse the word. We need to recount the word. We need to know our sword if we're going to stand firm as a Christian soldier. We need to know our sword.
[13:28] So get to know your sword. But you know there's one weapon in the armory which I'd never noticed before. I always knew that it was a weapon against the attacks and the advances of the devil.
[13:41] But I never noticed it until Bunyan pointed it out in the armory. Because you remember that when Christian was in the armory in the Palace Beautiful. We're told that he saw all manner of weapons which the Lord had provided for pilgrims.
[13:56] We're told that there was a sword, a shield, a helmet, a breastplate, shoes. But there was also a weapon called all prayer. All prayer.
[14:07] And that's the last weapon Paul said that every Christian soldier should pick up in the armory before they go out to battle. We're to pick up the weapon.
[14:18] All prayer. Paul says that we're to be praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. Being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
[14:32] Paul is saying to us, stand firm Christian soldier. Because Jesus, our commander in chief, he is our commander in chief.
[14:43] And as pilgrims we have been enrolled and enlisted in the Lord's army. Therefore we're to make sure that every morning we open our eyes to a new day of battle. We're to make sure that we go into our armory and that we put on our armor and we pick up our weapons so that we're ready to stand firm and to fight.
[15:03] We're to fight the good fight of faith. We're to stand up and stand firm. But you know as Christian discovered, as he discovered in the valley of humiliation, there's one thing a Christian soldier can't do.
[15:19] We can't turn our back for a moment. We can't turn our back for a moment. Because when Christians saw Apollyon, we're told that he was afraid.
[15:30] His instinct was to turn back and run. But we're told that he began to question whether or not he should turn back or stand firm. But it's then that Christian remembered he has no armor on his back to protect him.
[15:44] And if he turned back, Apollyon would have the greater advantage just to stab Christian in the back with his fiery darts. So Christian decides it's far better for him to stand up, to stand firm, and to fight the good fight of faith against Apollyon than to turn back.
[16:02] Far better for him to stand up and stand firm than to turn back. And you know my friend, as I know what the hymn writer says. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, you soldiers of the cross.
[16:16] Lift high his royal banner. It must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory. His army he shall lead till every foe is vanquished. And Christ is Lord indeed.
[16:28] Stand up, stand up for Jesus, he says. Stand in his strength alone. The arm of flesh will fail you. You dare not trust your own. Put on the gospel armor.
[16:38] Each piece put on with prayer. Where duty calls or danger. Be never wanting there. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. The strife will not be long.
[16:50] This day the noise of battle. The next the victor's song. To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be. They with the king of glory shall reign eternally.
[17:03] My friends, stand up and stand firm. Far better for you to stand up and stand firm against Apollyon than to turn back.
[17:15] And so with Christian now clothed in the armor for Apollyon, he's now ready to face accusations from Apollyon. Which is what we see secondly. Christian's accusations from Apollyon.
[17:28] Christian's accusations from Apollyon. So when Christian came face to face with Apollyon, Apollyon began to question Christian about his identity and his integrity.
[17:42] Because Apollyon asked Christian, he said, where have you come from and where are you going? To which Christian responded by saying, I have come from the city of destruction, which is the place of all evil.
[17:55] And I am going to the city of Zion. But Apollyon questions Christian's identity when he says, I perceive that thou art one of my subjects.
[18:07] For the city of destruction is my country. And I am the prince and God of it. How is it then that thou hast run away from thy king? Notice how Christian responds to Apollyon's accusations about his identity.
[18:22] Christian says, I was indeed born in your kingdom. But your service was hard. And your wages, which such that a man could not live on them, for the wages of sin is death.
[18:35] But says Christian, I have given myself to another, even to the king of princes. I have given him my faith. I have sworn to him my service. How then can I go back from this and not be hanged as a traitor?
[18:49] But Apollyon says to him, Thou didst the same to me. And yet I am willing to pass by all if thou will turn again and go back.
[19:02] You know, my Christian soldier, like it was for Christian, while we lived in the city of destruction as a graceless sinner clothed in filthy rags, the rags of this world, and as we lived and worked for the wages of sin, which would only bring death, and as we went about our business, oblivious to the danger, destruction, and damnation we were facing, it was when we were in that spiritually dead condition, and the God of this world had blinded our minds in unbelief, it was then, you know, the devil never bothered us.
[19:37] He never came near us. He never hindered us. He never hampered us. He never accused us. He never attacked us. He never questioned us. Because he had us.
[19:49] He had us. We belonged to him. We were owned by him. We were deluded and deceived by him. We were slaves of sin and servants to Satan. We were as Paul taught earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, back in chapter 2.
[20:04] We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were walking according to the kosh of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.
[20:14] We were children of disobedience, living according to the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the mind, and we were by nature the children of wrath, even like the rest of mankind.
[20:26] That's what we were like. But you remember what Paul said, but God. But God. And don't you just love that? But God.
[20:37] But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, he hath quickened us together with Christ. And he says, By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
[20:56] You know, my Christian soldier, you were once graceless and godless. The God of this world had blinded your mind in unbelief. But God.
[21:07] He commanded the light to shine into the dark recesses of your heart, to make you see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
[21:18] And in that moment, my friend, you were brought from death to life, from darkness to light, from the dungeon to liberty. And now, my Christian soldier, you can stand up against Apollyon, and you can stand firm with this Christian soldier, and say with him, you can say with Christian, The prince, under whose banner I now stand, is able to set me free, yea, and to pardon also what I did as to my service with thee.
[21:47] And besides, O thou destroying Apollyon, to speak the truth, I like his service, I like his wages, his servants, his government, his company, and his country.
[21:59] Therefore, leave off to persuade me further. I am his servant, and I will follow him. I am his servant, and I will follow him.
[22:12] And you know, my friend, you can almost hear Paul's clarion call in Romans 8. You can almost hear it echoing through the passages in the pilgrim's progress. And it's as if he's issuing this call to every Christian soldier, standing on the battlefield, and Paul is saying to them, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
[22:33] Shall tribulation? No. Shall distress? No. Persecution? No. Famine? No. Nakedness? No. Peril? No. Sword?
[22:44] No. No. He says, In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that 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, not even Apollyon, is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[23:08] What a testimony to have, my friend, as a Christian soldier. So stand up and stand firm. But you know, when Christian came face to face with Apollyon, Apollyon not only questioned Christian's identity, he also questioned Christian's integrity.
[23:28] Apollyon, he came accusing Christian, accusing him of fainting and being faithless and being a failure to King Jesus. Apollyon accused Christian of being a failure because as soon as Christian left the city of destruction, he said, You were almost choked in the slough of despond.
[23:47] Apollyon accused Christian of being a failure when he listened to Mr. Worley Wiseman and attempted to get rid of his burden by turning aside out of the King's Highway and going to the town of morality.
[24:00] Apollyon accused Christian of being a failure when he fell asleep. He fell asleep in the arbor on the hill difficulty and he lost his scroll of assurance.
[24:11] Apollyon accused Christian of being a failure when he was almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the lion standing at the entrance to the palace beautiful. And you know, Apollyon accused Christian of being a failure because when Christian speaks about his pilgrimage, Apollyon says that all he does is take glory to himself and not to the King, he says he serves.
[24:35] And you know, my Christian soldier, I'm sure that you're familiar. You're familiar with the devil's attacks and accusations about your failures and your faithlessness to Jesus. And that's because the devil loves to remind us, doesn't he?
[24:50] He loves to remind us not only of how much of a fool we were when we were without Christ, he also wants to remind us of how much of a failure we now are with Christ.
[25:04] But you know, my Christian soldier, I love the way that this Christian soldier responds to the accusations of the devil. Because Christian says, he says about Apollyon's accusations of failure, he says, all of it is true.
[25:22] You're not lying there. All of it is true and much more which you have left out. But the prince whom I serve and honour is merciful and ready to forgive.
[25:37] You know, Apollyon thought that he could accuse Christian because of his sins and shortcomings. And that's because the devil loves to point out our flaws and our failures. You know, there are people who are like that as well.
[25:50] They love to point out our flaws and our failures. They're not good at complimenting you but they're very good at condemning you. And you know, Apollyon thought that he could accuse Christian because of his identity and because of his integrity.
[26:04] He thought that he could point out all of Christian's flaws and failures. But you know, what's remarkable is that Christian responds to all of Apollyon's accusations and he says, you don't even know the half of it.
[26:18] You don't even know the half of it. Christian says to Apollyon, doesn't matter what you say to me. My identity is in Christ and my integrity is in Christ.
[26:32] The word of God assures me that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Apollyon looks at him and how does Apollyon respond to Christian?
[26:49] We're told that Apollyon breaks out into a grievous rage at what Christian is saying to him. And Apollyon says, I am an enemy to this prince. I hate his person.
[27:00] I hate his laws and I hate his people and I have come out on purpose to resist you. Which brings us to consider lastly, Christian's advantage over Apollyon.
[27:12] So in the Valley of Humiliation, we're learning three things about Christian. We learn about Christian's armour for Apollyon, Christian's accusations from Apollyon and Christian's advantage over Apollyon.
[27:26] Christian's advantage over Apollyon. You know, in Ephesians chapter 6, we see that Paul calls and commands us as Christians to go into our armoury, put on our armour and to pick up our weapons.
[27:42] And he calls us and commands us to do that so that we'll be able to stand up against the wiles of the devil and stand firm in the evil day. Now, some people think that the evil day is a reference to the last day, the final day, the day of judgment, where the climax and culmination of this world will reach its conclusion at Armageddon, where there will be this final battle between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.
[28:12] And it's there on the evil day that some think that we'll stand up and stand firm as a Christian soldier wearing the whole armour of God. And, you know, in many ways, that's true.
[28:25] But for the Puritans, like John Bunyan, they believed that the evil day was a description of what we face in everyday life.
[28:36] The Puritans believed that the evil day was any day in the Christian life in which we're being ambushed, assaulted, attacked and accused by Apollyon.
[28:50] Because, you know, my friend, there are good days and then there are evil days. There are days when we're walking in the light and liberty of the Lord, but then there are evil days when we feel that we're walking in the darkness and dungeon of despair.
[29:06] There are days when we feel that the shepherd is close to us and our cup is overflowing. But then there are other days, evil days, when the wolf is near and he's out to seek, to kill, to steal, kill and destroy.
[29:22] There are days when the Lord isn't near, but then there are days when the devil is near. There are good days and then there are evil days. And it's on those evil days that we feel that it's as if you could say, all hell has broken loose upon us.
[29:38] And the devil, we find that he's on a rampage and he's going about like a roaring lion and he's seeking and searching out us in order that he may devour us.
[29:50] And you know, we see it so clearly in the book of Job, don't we? Because you remember in Job's life, there were good days where he was with his family and he had all his herds and he had his home and his farms and everything.
[30:06] There were good days in Job's life. But then we read that there came a day. There came a day. There was an evil day when Satan was let loose on Job.
[30:17] Although he was chained, he was let loose. And he was going to and fro upon the earth. And this is that evil day for Christian. He has left the palace beautiful.
[30:28] He's descended into the valley of humiliation and he's come face to face with Apollyon. And with that, Bunyan, he describes this dramatic battle scene between Christian and Apollyon.
[30:40] Where Apollyon, he says to Christian, prepare thyself to die. For I swear by my infernal den, meaning hell, I swear by my infernal den that thou shalt go no further.
[30:54] I will spill thy soul. And with that, Apollyon, he throws this flaming dart at Christian's chest. But Christian defends it with his shield of faith.
[31:05] But Apollyon, he continues to advance his attack on Christian. He throws darts, we're told, as thick as hail. But Christian could do nothing to avoid all of these darts.
[31:15] And we're told that he was wounded in his head and his hand and down in his foot. But Christian tried to defend himself and he tried to fight back. But we're told that the battle raged on for almost half a day.
[31:29] And as the battle continued, Christian was growing weaker. And weaker because of his wounds. And Apollyon could see that. He could see the weakness in Christian. And seeing his opportunity, Apollyon, he wrestled Christian.
[31:43] And he threw him to the ground, we're told. And he caused Christian's sword to be flung out of his hand. And with that, Apollyon thought that the fight was over.
[31:53] All he had to do was live up to his name and destroy Christian. And so Apollyon, he presses his foot against Christian's neck, cutting off his air supply.
[32:05] And Christian, we're told, he was despairing even of life. But, and there's the but, we read, but as God would have it, while Apollyon was preparing his final blow so as to destroy Christian once and for all, Christian nimbly reached for his sword and caught it.
[32:28] And quoting words from Micah 7, Christian said, Rejoice, rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall, I shall arise.
[32:40] And with that, Christian, he thrust his sword, the sword of the Spirit, into Apollyon's chest, which caused Apollyon to draw back. And when Christian saw that it made Apollyon draw back, Christian thrust his sword in a second time.
[32:55] And when he thrust it in a second time, Christian declared to Apollyon in the words of Paul, as Clarion call in Romans, 8, he said, No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[33:08] And Apollyon, we're told, Apollyon spread forth his dragon's wings and he fled away for a season and Christians saw him no more.
[33:20] He fled away for a season and Christians saw him no more. But you know, as we conclude this evening, I want to ask you my Christian soldier, I want to ask you, what was Christian's advantage over Apollyon?
[33:39] What was Christian's advantage over Apollyon? Because we've learned about Christian's armor for Apollyon and Christian's accusations from Apollyon. But what was Christian's advantage over Apollyon?
[33:54] Christian's advantage over Apollyon was that Christian knew his sword. Christian's advantage over Apollyon was that Christian could wield the sword of the Spirit against his enemy.
[34:07] And you know, my Christian soldier, is that not how our commander-in-chief dealt with all the ambushes and assaults and attacks and accusations of the devil when he was in the wilderness?
[34:20] Do you remember when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness? How did he respond? He responded with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
[34:30] Jesus responded with the words, it is written. It is written. It is written. Jesus responded to every ambush and attack and assault and accusation from the devil and he used the Word of God to do it.
[34:48] Because the Word of God, as Hebrews 4 tells us, it's a sharp two-edged sword. The Word of God is a sharp two-edged sword. It's the sword of the Spirit.
[35:02] And as we have been reminded this evening, my Christian soldier, we have been reminded that's how you fight in the valley of humiliation. In order to fight in the valley of humiliation, you need to go into your armory, you need to put on your armor, you need to pick up your weapons, the weapons which the Lord has provided for us, and you need to stand up and stand firm and go forward and fight the good fight of faith in the Lord's strength.
[35:35] Do you know what the hymn writer said? Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe, forward into battle.
[35:50] see his banner go. So for you, my Christian soldier, put on your armor, pick up your weapons, and go forward fighting the good fight of faith.
[36:06] Well, may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray together. O Heavenly Father, we give thanks to thee for providing us a commander-in-chief, one who will lead us out into battle.
[36:24] And Lord, we pray that we would follow him. We would follow him into battle, clothed in the whole armor of God, ready to fight the good fight of faith, ready to stand firm against the wiles of the devil.
[36:38] And Lord, we pray that we would stand firm and persevere to the end, that we would persevere ever looking to our commander-in-chief, knowing that he is the one who has gone before us.
[36:50] He has gone within the veil and he is preparing for us a place in his father's house. O Lord, guide us then, we pray. Lead us into the week that lies ahead, how we are reminded each week that we do not know what a day nor an hour may bring in our lives.
[37:07] But Lord, we ask thee that thou wouldest keep us, watch over us and protect us, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.
[37:19] Well, we're going to bring our service to our conclusion this evening by singing the words of Psalm 27. Psalm 27, it's in the Sing Psalms version and we're singing from verse 2 down to the end of the verse marked 4.
[37:34] Psalm 27 from verse 2 and this psalm, as you know, it speaks about the evildoers that threaten our life but our focus must be upon the Lord.
[37:46] Our focus must be upon the one who has the beauty of the Lord and that's what David is encouraging us to do in Psalm 27. He says, when evildoers threaten me to take my life away, my adversaries and my foes will stumble in that day.
[38:02] Although an army hems me in, my heart will feel no dread. Though war against me should arise, I will lift up my head. One thing I'll plead before the Lord and this I'll seek always, that I may come within God's house and dwell there all my days, that on the beauty of the Lord I constantly may gaze and in his house may seek to know direction in his ways.
[38:29] So we'll sing these verses of Psalm 27 to God's praise. When evil doers threaten me to take my life away, my adversaries and my foes will stumble ZANG EN Massют cube and sun and Praise cube and increase among them to triple andено evening.
[39:13] So on the plateau as being listened to me andury andyl and star sing point rest of the or sea does fire and eleven in their I will lift up my head.
[39:32] One day I'll be deep for the Lord, and this I'll seek always, that I may come within the sons and dwell there all my days.
[40:01] But of the beauty of the Lord I constantly hate, and in this I may seek to know thy best shall live this way.
[40:31] Thank you.